• Home
  • INDEX

Joseph Joachim

~ biography and research

Joseph Joachim

Category Archives: Concert Reviews & Criticism

Eleventh Gewandhaus Subscription Concert: Leipzig, January 1, 1879

17 Monday Aug 2026

Posted by Joachim in Concert Reviews & Criticism

≈ Leave a comment

E. Bernsdorf, „Elftes Abonnement-Concert im Saale des Gewandhauses zu Leipzig. Mittwoch, den 1. Januar 1879,“ Signale für die musikalische Welt 37, no. 2 (January 1879): 23–24.


Elftes Abonnement-Concert im Saale des Gewandhauses zu Leipzig.
Mittwoch, den 1. Januar 1879.

Erster Theil: Ouvertüre (aus der Suite IV) von Franz Lachner. — Arie aus der Oper: „Die Entführung aus dem Serail“ von W. A. Mozart, gesungen von Fräulein Marcella Sembrich, Königl. Sächs. Hofopernsängerin aus Dresden. — Concert für die Violine von Joh. Brahms (neu, Manuscript, unter Leitung des Componisten), vorgetragen von Herrn Joseph Joachim. — Lieder mit Pianoforte, gesungen von Fräulein Marcella Sembrich. a) Notturno; b) Mazurka von Chopin. — Chaconne für die Violine von Joh. Seb. Bach, vorgetragen von Herrn Joseph Joachim. — Zweiter Theil: Symphonie (Nr. 7, Adur) von Ludwig van Beethoven.

Die hauptsächlichste Attraction dürfte das elfte Gewandhausconcert auf Viele wohl durch seine solistischen Bestandtheile ausgeübt haben: gab es doch in dieser Beziehung erstens ein neues Werk von Brahms, dann eine für hier neue Sängerinnen-Erscheinung und endlich den für uns nicht neuen, aber stets hochwillkommenen Joseph Joachim, der noch dazu die neue Schöpfung seines Freundes hier in Leipzig sozusagen aus der Taufe hob und sie zum ersten Male der Oeffentlichkeit unterbreitete — also Alles Personen und Sachen, die wohl Spannung und Interesse zu erregen vollkommen geeignet waren. Was nun zuerst das Concert von Brahms anlangt, so haben wir dasselbe zu den eingänglichsten, klarsten und spontanst erfundenen Erzeugnissen dieses Componisten zu zählen, ebenso wie zu den formell abgerundetsten und in der Darstellung prägnantesten. Es ist in der guten alten dreisätzigen Weise construirt und dürfte nach unserer Schätzung unter diesen Sätzen der erste, der gewichtigste, das Adagio der herztreffendste und das Finale der originellste sein. Die Principalstimme speciell hat öfter Mühe sich als solche dem reich ausgestatteten, hin und wieder sozusagen dicht belaubten und verwachsenen Orchester gegenüber zu behaupten, und ist überdies technisch so schwierig und heikelig geartet, daß selbst Joachim, der gestählte und kampfgewohnte Ringer, ihrer nur mit ersichtlicher Anstrengung Herr wurde. Der Verfassrr [sic] der Novität (der, wie aus dem Progamm [sic] ersichtlich, auch in höchsteigener Person als Dirigent fungirte), sowie der Interpret wurden durch reichen Beifall und einhellige Hervorrufe ausgezeichnet, ein Umstand, der für Herrn Joachim speciell in fast noch erhöhter Intensität nach Darbietung der Bach’schen Chaconne sich bemerklich machte, in welchem Stücke er denn auch in der That ganz und ungehemmt er selbst war.

Fräulein Sembrich offenbarte sich uns als Sängerin mit nach der Höhe zu ungewöhnlich umfangreicher und eben in den hohen Chorden auch sehr angenehm klingender, aber in den mittleren und tieferen theils zu schwacher, theils einen etwas gaumigen Anflug verrathender Stimme, ferner mit nicht unbeträchtlicher Kehlfertigkeit. Wenn es ihr gelingt, ihrer Coloratur noch mehr Glanz und ihrem Triller im Besondern noch mehr Beweglichkeit und Correctheit zu verleihen, und wenn sie sich außerdem noch etwas mehr Innerlichkeit und Wärme des Vortrags anzuschaffen vermag, so hat sie einer glänzenden Zukunft sich zu versehen. Den der Sängerin nach den beiden Chopin’schen Sachen in besonders reichem Maße gespendeten Beifall unterschreiben wir für unsere Person insofern nicht ganz bereitwillig, als wir uns dieselben nicht nur noch viel feiner und pikanter (auch fehlerloser) gesungen denken können, sondern als sie uns überhaupt auch in der als Gesangstücke zugerichteten Gestalt durchaus unglücklich vorkommen.

Es erübrigt nur noch zu erwähnen, daß die beim Wiederanhören uns abermals viel Vergnügen machende Lachner’sche Ouvertüre sehr gut, die Beethoven’sche in aller Unwiderstehlichkeit wirkende Sinfonie sogar sehr ausgezeichnet (trotz einiger innerhalb des Chors der ersten Violinen vorgekommenen Voreiligkeiten) executirt wurde.

E. Bernsdorf.

English Translation

Eleventh Subscription Concert in the Hall of the Gewandhaus at Leipzig.
Wednesday, January 1, 1879.

First Part: Overture (from Suite IV) by Franz Lachner. — Aria from the opera “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” by W. A. Mozart, sung by Fräulein Marcella Sembrich, Royal Saxon Court Opera singer from Dresden. — Concerto for the violin by Joh. Brahms (new, manuscript, under the direction of the composer), performed by Herr Joseph Joachim. — Songs with pianoforte, sung by Fräulein Marcella Sembrich. a) Notturno; b) Mazurka by Chopin. — Chaconne for the violin by Joh. Seb. Bach, performed by Herr Joseph Joachim. — Second Part: Symphony (No. 7, A major) by Ludwig van Beethoven.

For many, the chief attraction of the eleventh Gewandhaus concert will no doubt have been its solo components: for in this respect there was, first, a new work by Brahms, then a singer new to our city, and finally the — for us not new, but always most welcome — Joseph Joachim, who moreover stood godfather here in Leipzig, so to speak, to his friend’s new creation and presented it to the public for the first time — all of them, then, persons and things perfectly calculated to arouse anticipation and interest. As regards, first, the concerto by Brahms, we must count it among the most readily accessible, the clearest, and the most spontaneously invented products of this composer, just as among the most formally rounded and the most concise in presentation. It is constructed in the good old three-movement manner, and in our estimation, among these movements, the first is of the greatest moment, the Adagio the most touching to the heart, and the Finale the most original. The principal part in particular often has difficulty in asserting itself against the richly appointed orchestra — here and there, so to speak, densely leaved and overgrown — and is moreover of so difficult and ticklish a technical character that even Joachim, that seasoned and battle-hardened fighter, mastered it only with evident exertion. The author of this novelty (who, as is evident from the program, also functioned in his own most personal capacity as conductor), as well as the interpreter, were honored with rich applause and unanimous curtain calls — a circumstance that in Herr Joachim’s case made itself felt with almost even greater intensity after his performance of the Bach Chaconne, in which piece he was indeed wholly and unconstrainedly himself.

Fräulein Sembrich revealed herself to us as a singer with a voice of unusually wide compass toward the top, and precisely in the high notes also very agreeable in sound, but in the middle and lower registers partly too weak and partly betraying a somewhat palatal approach; further, with no inconsiderable agility of throat. If she succeeds in imparting still more brilliance to her coloratura and, particularly, still more flexibility and correctness to her trill, and if she can moreover acquire somewhat more inwardness and warmth of delivery, then she may look forward to a brilliant future. The applause bestowed on the singer in especially rich measure after the two Chopin pieces we personally endorse only with some reservation, inasmuch as we can not only imagine them sung far more finely and piquantly (and also more faultlessly), but as they in general strike us as thoroughly unfortunate in the form in which they have been fitted out as vocal pieces.

It remains only to mention that the Lachner overture, which on renewed hearing again gave us much pleasure, was very well executed, and the Beethoven symphony, effective in all its irresistibility, even excellently so (despite early entrances within the ranks of the first violins).

E. Bernsdorf.

Eleventh Gewandhaus Subscription Concert, Leipzig, 1 January 1879Download

Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Like this:

Like Loading…

Ebenezer Prout Reviews, The Academy, February 21, 1874

17 Friday Jul 2026

Posted by Joachim in Concert Reviews & Criticism

≈ Leave a comment

Ebenezer Prout, “Crystal Palace—Herr Joachim,” The Academy: A Weekly Review of Literature, Science, and Art, February 21, 1874, 214–15.


CRYSTAL PALACE — HERR JOACHIM.

THE special feature of last Saturday’s concert at the Crystal Palace was the first appearance this season of Herr Joachim. This great artist has been so long acknowledged as the first of living violinists, that it is all but impossible to write anything new about him: and one is at the same time met by the difficulty that his performances are invariably so absolutely perfect that the mere description of them sounds like extravagant eulogy. The critic has simply to lay down his pen and admire. While, considered merely as a virtuoso, Joachim has few equals, the last thing one thinks of in hearing him is his wonderful mastery of the instrument. No idea of mere display or the overcoming of mechanical difficulties is suggested by his performance; and the reason of this is simply that, probably more than any other living performer on his instrument, he enters heart and soul into the spirit of whatever he plays. As Beethoven says, “That which is to go to the heart must come from the heart;” and with Joachim everything comes warm from the heart. It is not merely intellectual playing, though that is not to be disparaged; but it is the combination of a perfect understanding of the music and a complete sympathy with it which constitutes the great charm. He seems, if the phrase may be allowed, to have assimilated whatever he performs, and he reproduces it as if it were the spontaneous production of his own soul. Hence, whether in a sonata of Bach, a concerto of Beethoven or Spohr, or a quartet of Schubert or Schumann, the same feeling is produced of perfection, of absolute satisfaction. It is not Joachim’s “reading” of the work; it is rather the work itself. The player seeks to bring forward, not himself, but the composer; and by his very self-denial takes the highest possible artistic position. 

To those who have never heard Joachim, this language may perhaps seem exaggerated; but those who have had that good fortune will heartily endorse every word. 

The concert on Saturday showed that the great artist had returned to us in the full possession of his powers. Indeed he seems, if possible, to play more finely every year. His performances consisted of Spohr’s Concerto in E minor (No. 7) and a selection of Brahms’s “Hungarian Dances,” originally written as piano duets, and arranged by Joachim himself, with the concurrence of the composer, for violin and pianoforte. Spohr’s concerto, though less popular than his “Scena cantate,” is one of the best of the fifteen works of this class which he produced. The first and last movements are full of charm; the slow movement, though the opening subject is interesting, becomes tedious before its close. It is somewhat the fashion at the present day to decry Spohr. No doubt he has been unduly exalted; no one would rank him with Beethoven or Mozart; but on the other hand he is one of the first in the second rank of composers. True, there is a certain mannerism, a strong family likeness between all his works; but he is never commonplace or vulgar, and the workmanship of his music is always most artistically finished. His concertos for the violin rank among the best of his compositions, and some of them will probably outlive much of his other music. 

Brahms’s “Hungarian Dances” are distinguished by great originality and a strong national colouring. We cannot but think they are more effective in their original form; but in Joachim’s adaptation they make excellent concert pieces. After what has been said above, it is needless to add a word as to the performance. It should, however, be stated that the piano accompaniments were excellently played by Mr. Franklin Taylor. 

Of the remainder of the programme a few words will suffice. The symphony was Beethoven’s C minor—the best-known of the nine; the other instrumental pieces being Schubert’s graceful “Overture in the Italian Style,” written avowedly in imitation of the overture to Tancredi, and the now well-known and popular Tannhäuser overture. The vocalists were Madame Elena Corani and Signor Agnesti. Mr. Manns being prevented by domestic affliction from occupying his usual post at the conductor’s desk, his place was most efficiently filled by Mr. Wedemeyer, the leader of the first violins. 

To-day, in addition to Mendelssohn’s music to the Midsummer Night’s Dream, a new overture by Mr. Alfred Holmes and three pieces for female voices will be produced for the first time at these concerts. 


Ebenezer Prout, “[Herr Joachim at the Monday Popular Concerts]”, The Academy: A Weekly Review of Literature, Science, and Art, February 21, 1874, 214–15.


Herr Joachim’s reappearance at the Monday Popular Concerts last Monday was no less of a success than that just adverted to at Sydenham. The announcement of his name was sufficient to crowd St. James’s Hall to the doors; and his reception on mounting the steps of the orchestra was such as a “Monday Popular” audience reserves for its special favourites. The quartet which Herr Joachim selected for performance was Beethoven’s, No. 10, in E flat—no novelty at these concerts, the present being its eleventh performance, but none the less welcome on that account. After what has been said above, it is needless to enlarge upon the exquisite manner in which this great work was rendered; but if one point can be selected for special mention, we should be inclined to name the deeply-moving and pathetic adagio (the influence of which on Mendelssohn, it may be remarked, is clearly to be traced in the slow movement of his Scotch symphony) as one of the most perfect pieces of quartet playing ever heard, both from the expressive, yet never exaggerated “singing” by Herr Joachim of the principal melodies, and from the admirable way in which he was supported by Messrs. Ries, Zerbini, and Piatti. 

An even greater effect was produced later in the evening by Herr Joachim’s playing of Bach’s sonata for violin solo in G minor. Owing to the enormous mechanical difficulties to be found in Bach’s violin sonatas, they are very seldom heard in public; and it may safely be said that no living player can give such a reading of them as Joachim. His performance last Monday was one of the most marvellous exhibitions of technical skill, combined with intellectual appreciation of the spirit of the music, which even he has ever given. The clearness with which the elaborate combinations of the fugue were brought out, and the unerring certainty of execution of the final presto (taken at a tremendous pace), can hardly be imagined by those who were not present. The audience recalled the performer with enthusiasm at the close of the piece, nor would they be satisfied until Herr Joachim repeated the last movement. 

The pianist at this concert was that sterling artist, Miss Agnes Zimmermann, who chose for her solo Schubert’s sonata in A, Op. 120—a work comparatively but little known, but one of its author’s most individual, though by no means one of his greatest creations. Miss Zimmermann’s reading was not only faultlessly accurate, but full of taste and feeling. No less successful was she in Beethoven’s Trio in C minor, in which she was joined by Herr Joachim and Signor Piatti. A more satisfactory performance could not have been wished.

The vocalist of the evening was Mdlle. Victoria Bunsen, a lady with an excellent contralto voice, who took the place of Mdlle. Nita Gaetano, who had been originally announced, but was prevented by hoarseness from appearing. Mdlle. Bunsen sang extremely well, but was hardly happy in her choice of music, as her first song, Schubert’s “Wanderer,” is much better suited for a baritone voice than for a contralto; and her second, Mozart’s “Voi che sapete,” required transposition to bring it within her compass. 

EBENEZER PROUT. 

Deutsche Übersetzung


Ebenezer Prout, “Crystal Palace—Herr Joachim,” The Academy: A Weekly Review of Literature, Science, and Art, February 21, 1874, 214–15.


Das besondere Merkmal des Konzerts im Crystal Palace am vergangenen Sonnabend war das erste Erscheinen Herr Joachims in dieser Saison. Dieser große Künstler ist schon so lange als der Erste unter den lebenden Geigern anerkannt, dass es nahezu unmöglich ist, noch etwas Neues über ihn zu schreiben; und zugleich steht man vor der Schwierigkeit, dass seine Aufführungen ausnahmslos so vollkommen sind, dass ihre bloße Beschreibung wie überschwängliches Lob klingt. Der Kritiker hat nichts anderes zu tun, als die Feder aus der Hand zu legen und zu bewundern. Betrachtet man Joachim nur als Virtuosen, so hat er wenige Ebenbürtige; doch ist das Letzte, woran man denkt, wenn man ihn hört, seine wunderbare Meisterschaft über das Instrument. Kein Gedanke an bloße Zurschaustellung oder an das Überwinden mechanischer Schwierigkeiten wird durch sein Spiel nahegelegt; und der Grund dafür ist einfach der, dass er wahrscheinlich mehr als jeder andere lebende Spieler auf seinem Instrument mit ganzem Herzen und ganzer Seele in den Geist dessen eingeht, was er spielt. Wie Beethoven sagt: „Was ins Herz gehen soll, muss aus dem Herzen kommen“; und bei Joachim kommt alles warm aus dem Herzen. Es ist nicht nur intellektuelles Spiel – so wenig dies auch zu verachten ist –, sondern die Verbindung eines vollkommenen Verständnisses der Musik mit einer völligen inneren Anteilnahme an ihr, die ihren großen Zauber ausmacht. Er scheint, wenn man sich so ausdrücken darf, alles, was er vorträgt, in sich aufgenommen zu haben, und er gibt es wieder, als sei es der spontane Ausdruck seiner eigenen Seele. Daher ruft sein Spiel, sei es in einer Sonate von Bach, einem Konzert von Beethoven oder Spohr oder einem Quartett von Schubert oder Schumann, stets dasselbe Empfinden der Vollendung, der vollkommenen Befriedigung hervor. Es ist nicht Joachims „Auffassung“ des Werkes; es ist vielmehr das Werk selbst. Der Spieler bemüht sich, nicht sich selbst, sondern den Komponisten hervortreten zu lassen und nimmt gerade durch diese Selbstverleugnung die höchstmögliche künstlerische Stellung ein.

Für diejenigen, die Joachim niemals gehört haben, mögen diese Worte vielleicht übertrieben erscheinen; doch die, welche das gute Glück hatten, ihn zu hören, werden jedes Wort von Herzen bestätigen. Das Konzert am Sonnabend zeigte, dass der große Künstler in voller Kraft zu uns zurückgekehrt war. Ja, er scheint, wenn es möglich ist, jedes Jahr noch vollkommener zu spielen. Seine Darbietungen bestanden aus Spohrs Konzert e‑Moll (Nr. 7) und einer Auswahl von Brahms’ „Ungarischen Tänzen“, die ursprünglich für Klavier zu vier Händen geschrieben und von Joachim selbst, in Übereinstimmung mit dem Komponisten, für Violine und Klavier eingerichtet wurden. Spohrs Konzert, obgleich weniger beliebt als seine „Scena cantate“, gehört zu den besten der fünfzehn Werke dieser Gattung, die er geschrieben hat. Der erste und der letzte Satz sind voll Anmut; der langsame Satz, dessen Eröffnungsgedanke zwar anziehend ist, wird gegen Ende etwas langatmig. Es ist heutzutage bis zu einem gewissen Grade Mode geworden, Spohr geringzuschätzen. Zweifellos ist er über Gebühr verherrlicht worden; niemand würde ihn mit Beethoven oder Mozart auf eine Stufe stellen; aber andererseits gehört er zu den Ersten der zweiten Reihe der Komponisten. Gewiss, es gibt bei ihm eine gewisse Manieriertheit, eine starke Familienähnlichkeit zwischen all seinen Werken; doch ist er niemals trivial oder vulgär, und die Ausarbeitung seiner Musik ist immer höchst kunstvoll vollendet. Seine Violinkonzerte zählen zu den besten seiner Kompositionen, und einige von ihnen werden vermutlich einen großen Teil seiner übrigen Musik überdauern.

Brahms’ „Ungarische Tänze“ zeichnen sich durch große Originalität und einen ausgeprägt nationalen Charakter aus. Wir sind geneigt zu glauben, dass sie in ihrer ursprünglichen Gestalt noch wirkungsvoller sind; doch in Joachims Bearbeitung werden sie zu ausgezeichneten Konzertstücken. Nach allem, was oben gesagt worden ist, erübrigt es sich, der Aufführung noch ein Wort zu widmen. Erwähnt werden soll jedoch, dass die Klavierbegleitungen von Mr. Franklin Taylor vortrefflich gespielt wurden.

Mit wenigen Worten sei über den übrigen Teil des Programms berichtet. Die Symphonie war Beethovens c‑Moll‑Symphonie – die bekannteste der neun; die übrigen Instrumentalstücke waren Schuberts anmutige „Ouvertüre im italienischen Stil“, die ausdrücklich in Nachahmung der Ouvertüre zu Tancredi geschrieben ist, und die jetzt wohlbekannte und beliebte Tannhäuser-Ouvertüre. Die Vokalsolisten waren Madame Elena Corani und Signor Agnesti. Da Mr. Manns durch ein häusliches Unglück verhindert war, seinen gewohnten Platz am Dirigentenpult einzunehmen, wurde seine Stelle mit größter Umsicht von Mr. Wedemeyer, dem ersten Konzertmeister, ausgefüllt.

Heute wird, neben Mendelssohns Musik zu Ein Sommernachtstraum, zum ersten Mal bei diesen Konzerten eine neue Ouvertüre von Mr. Alfred Holmes sowie drei Stücke für Frauenstimmen zur Aufführung gebracht.

Ebenezer Prout, „[Herr Joachim bei den Monday Popular Concerts]“, The Academy: A Weekly Review of Literature, Science, and Art, 21. Februar 1874, 214–15.


Herr Joachims Wiedererscheinen bei den Monday Popular Concerts am vergangenen Montag war nicht weniger erfolgreich als das soeben erwähnte in Sydenham. Die bloße Ankündigung seines Namens genügte, um die St. James’s Hall bis auf den letzten Platz zu füllen; und sein Empfang beim Hinaufsteigen auf das Orchesterpodium war von der Art, wie ein „Monday Popular“-Publikum sie sich für seine besonderen Lieblinge vorbehält. Das Quartett, das Herr Joachim zur Aufführung auswählte, war Beethovens Quartett Nr. 10 Es‑Dur – kein Novum bei diesen Konzerten, da es nun bereits zum elften Mal dargeboten wurde, aber deswegen keineswegs minder willkommen. Nach dem, was oben gesagt wurde, erübrigt es sich, die vortreffliche Weise, in der dieses große Werk wiedergegeben wurde, ausführlich zu schildern; wenn jedoch ein Punkt zu besonderer Hervorhebung gewählt werden soll, so wären wir geneigt, das tief bewegende und pathetische Adagio zu nennen (dessen Einfluss auf Mendelssohn, wie man bemerken mag, sich deutlich im langsamen Satz seiner Schottischen Symphonie erkennen lässt), als eines der vollkommensten Beispiele des Quartettspiels, die je zu hören waren – sowohl wegen des ausdrucksvollen, aber nie übertriebenen „Gesangs“ Herr Joachims in den Hauptmelodien als auch wegen der vorzüglichen Weise, in der er von den Herren Ries, Zerbini und Piatti unterstützt wurde.

Eine noch größere Wirkung wurde später am Abend durch Herr Joachims Vortrag von Bachs Sonate für Violine solo g‑Moll hervorgerufen. Aufgrund der gewaltigen technischen Schwierigkeiten in Bachs Violinsonaten werden diese nur sehr selten öffentlich gespielt; und man darf wohl mit Recht sagen, dass kein lebender Geiger eine so vollkommene Deutung dieser Werke zu geben vermag wie Joachim. Seine Aufführung am vergangenen Montag war eine der erstaunlichsten Darbietungen technischer Virtuosität, verbunden mit einem intellektuellen Erfassen des Geistes der Musik, wie selbst er sie kaum je zuvor geboten hat. Die Klarheit, mit der die kunstvollen Kombinationen der Fuge hervorgehoben wurden, und die untrügliche Sicherheit der Ausführung im abschließenden Presto (in einem geradezu atemraubenden Tempo genommen), lassen sich von denen, die nicht zugegen waren, kaum vorstellen. Das Publikum rief den Künstler am Schluss des Stücks begeistert zurück und war erst zufrieden, als Herr Joachim den letzten Satz wiederholte.

EBENEZER PROUT.

Ebenezer Prout Reviews, The Academy, February 21, 1874Download

Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Like this:

Like Loading…

Das Joachim’sche Quartett (1894)

01 Wednesday Jul 2026

Posted by Joachim in Concert Reviews & Criticism

≈ Leave a comment

Arno Kleffel, „Das Joachim’sche Quartett,“ Schorers Familienblatt 11, Nr. 11 (1894): 41–42.

[English translation below]


Das Joachim’sche Quartett

Das war am 25. Januar dieses Jahres ein denkwürdiger und für alle, die ihn miterlebt, ein erhender Abend. Von Meister Joachim und seinen ausgezeichneten Genossen, den Professoren Kruse, Wirth und Hausmann, denen sich diesmal zur Ausführung der zweiten Violastimme noch Herr Concertmeister Eldering angeschlossen, war soeben als Schlußnummer des Programms Beethoven’s C-dur-Quintett beendet worden, als sich plötzlich die gesamte Zuhörerschaft erhob und in eine Beifallsovation ausbrach, wie sie die Räume der Singakademie in so demonstrativer Weise und in gleich zündender Unmittelbarkeit wohl kaum noch vernommen, und die nicht eher zu dämpfen war, als bis Joachim auf dem Podium zu verschiedenen Malen den Danktribut der begeisterten Zuhörerschaft in Empfang genommen hatte. Was war, hätte man fragen können, geschehen, um diesen außergewöhnlichen Jubelausbruch zu entfesseln? Weder das Werk noch dessen Wiedergabe konnten dazu die Veranlassung gegeben haben, denn daß von dem Joachim’schen Quartett immer nur das Beste in der vollendetsten Ausführung geboten wird, muß ja jedem von vornherein als selbstverständlich gelten. Niemand von den Zuhörern würde im Augenblick die rechte Antwort gefunden haben. Jeder fühlte nur, daß sein Herz nach überquellender Dankesäußerung verlange. In dieser, vom Augenblick geborenen Huldigung liegt vielleicht die höchste Ehre, die einer Kunstleistung zu Teil werden kann. Es bedarf heutigen Tages keines Hinweises mehr, welche Stellung das Joachim’sche Quartett in Berlin, ja in der gesamten musikalischen Welt einnimmt. Wie es noch niemals einen mit blendendster Virtuosität ausgestatteten Künstler gegeben hat, der mit Verachtung jedweden äußeren Effektmittels sich während seines ganzen Lebens in so selbstloser Weise dem Dienst der Kunst geweiht hat, wie Joachim, ebenso wenig wird es auf der Welt eine zweite Künstlervereinigung geben, welche die bedeutendsten Schätze unserer Kammermusikliteratur in gleich vollkommener Stilreinheit, mit gleich pietät- und weihevoller Hingabe auszuführen im Stande ist, wie das Joachim’sche Quartett. Wie Joachim der erste war, der die musikalische Welt mit den Bach’schen Violinwerken bekannt machte, der es ferner wagte, das halbvergessene Beethoven’sche Violinconcert bei Gelegenheit des Düsseldorfer Musikfestes im Jahre 1853 zum ersten Mal öffentlich zu spielen, ebenso kannte er als Führer seiner Quartettvereinigung kein höheres Ziel, als das Verständnis des deutschen Volkes für die bisher gefürchteten und unausführbar geltenden letzten Beethoven’schen Streichquartette zu erschließen. Wie es seiner Anregung und thätigen Mithilfe erst zu danken war, daß in Bonn Beethoven’s Geburtshaus angekauft und zu einem künftigen Beethoven-Museum bestimmt wurde, so bildete seine Quartettvereinigung wiederum ein Mittelpunkt der musikalischen Aufführungen, als vor vier Jahren in Bonn das erste Beethoven-Kammer-Musikfest ins Leben gerufen wurde, um diesem Museum den ersten nennenswerten Beitrag als Stammfond zuzuführen. Wie Joachim niemals ein Tonstück zur Folie seiner außerordentlichen Kunstfertigkeit verwendet, sondern einzig und allein in möglichst abgeklärter Reproduktion desselben sein künstlerisches Genüge findet, ebenso ist man beim Anhören jeder seiner Quartettdarbietungen überzeugt, daß sich der Schöpfer so und nicht anders sein Werk gedacht haben mag. Nie hört man ein Hervordringen eines Instruments, jede Stimme scheint der anderen liebevoll

42

entgegen zu kommen, und so vereinigen sich alle vier zu einem harmonisch vollkommenen Ganzen. Es hat deshalb etwas wunderbares, mit welcher Deutlichkeit bei diesem Sichtergänzen und Ineinanderfügen der Stimmen doch die Fäden des Gewebes unserem Auge klargelegt, wie die geheimsten Gänge und Irrpfade unserem Geiste erschlossen werden. Man muß vor vier Jahren in Bonn Zeuge gewesen sein, wie mächtig, wie Offenbarungen gleich die beiden Riesenquartette von Beethoven in Cis-moll und B-dur auf die Zuhörer wirkten. Man stand unter dem Eindruck, daß Vollkommeneres nicht zu leisten, dem menschlichen Auge wenigstens nicht mehr erkennbar sei. So bilden seit Jahren die Joachimschen Quartettabende nicht nur den Brennpunkt des Berliner Musiklebens, sondern die denkbar vollkommenste Künstlervereinigung überhaupt. Während sich das Publikum sonst in den Concert- oder Theateraufführungen aus den verschiedensten Schichten des Volkes zusammensetzt, besteht die Zuhörerschaft der Joachim-Abende fast ausschließlich aus dem geistigen Adel der Residenz.

Wenn man einmal alle die Namen derjenigen in Erfahrung bringen könnte, welche die andächtige Gemeinde nur eines einzigen dieser Abende bilden, man würde über die große Zahl hervorragender, teils weltberühmter Kapacitäten erstaunt sein. Gleichviel welchem Zweig der Wissenschaft, der Kunst oder welchem Beruf er sonst angehören mag, jeder Zuhörer findet dort Anregung und Erbauung, jeder erlebt dort Stunden reinen, ungetrübten Glücks. Der Dank für diese Stunden und das Überströmen der Freude, daß der Meister, der sie uns geboten, als leuchtendes Vorbild noch in voller Manneskraft unter uns weilt, hatte plötzlich die Herzen an jenem Abend erglühen gemacht. So glänzende und rauschende Ovationen auch Joachim erlebt haben mag, vielleicht wird er auf keine mit größerem Stolz und innigerer Freude zurückblicken, als auf jene Huldigung am 25. Januar.

Arno Kleffel.

English translation

It was, on the 25th of January of this year, a memorable evening—one that proved uplifting for all who experienced it. Master Joachim and his distinguished colleagues, Professors Kruse, Wirth, and Hausmann—joined on this occasion for the performance of the second viola part by Concertmaster Eldering—had just concluded Beethoven’s C-major Quintet as the final number on the program, when suddenly the entire audience rose to its feet and burst into an ovation such as the halls of the Singakademie have scarcely ever heard in so demonstrative a form and with such immediate fervor, and which could not be subdued until Joachim, on the podium, had received the tribute of thanks from the enthusiastic audience several times over.

What, one might have asked, had occurred to unleash this extraordinary outburst of jubilation? Neither the work itself nor its performance could have been the cause; for it must be taken as self-evident that the Joachim Quartet always offers only the finest in the most perfect execution. No one among the listeners would, in that moment, have found the proper answer. Each felt only that his heart demanded an overflowing expression of gratitude. In such homage, born of the moment, perhaps lies the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an artistic achievement.

Nowadays, it needs no further explanation what position the Joachim Quartet occupies in Berlin, indeed in the entire musical world. Just as there has never been an artist endowed with the most dazzling virtuosity who, with disdain for every outward effect, devoted himself so selflessly throughout his life to the service of art as Joachim, so too there can scarcely exist another ensemble capable of performing the greatest treasures of our chamber music literature with equal purity of style and with such reverent and consecrated devotion as the Joachim Quartet. As Joachim was the first to acquaint the musical world with Bach’s works for violin, and further dared, on the occasion of the Düsseldorf Music Festival in 1853, to perform publicly for the first time the half-forgotten Beethoven Violin Concerto, so also, as leader of his quartet, he knew no higher aim than to open the understanding of the German people to the last Beethoven string quartets, hitherto feared and deemed unperformable.

Just as it was due to his initiative and active assistance that Beethoven’s birthplace in Bonn was purchased and designated as a future Beethoven museum, so too his quartet formed a central focus of musical performances when, four years ago in Bonn, the first Beethoven Chamber Music Festival was established in order to provide this museum with its first substantial endowment. As Joachim never uses a musical work as a mere foil for his extraordinary technical skill, but finds his artistic fulfillment solely in its most purified reproduction, so one is convinced, in hearing each of his quartet performances, that the composer must have conceived the work precisely thus and not otherwise. One never hears any instrument thrust itself forward; each voice seems to meet the others with loving consideration, and thus all four unite into a harmoniously perfect whole.

It is therefore something remarkable how clearly, in this mutual complementing and interweaving of the voices, the threads of the texture are laid bare to the eye, how the most hidden pathways and byways are revealed to the mind. One must have witnessed, four years ago in Bonn, how powerfully—like revelations—the two gigantic quartets of Beethoven in C-sharp minor and B-flat major affected the listeners. One stood under the impression that nothing more perfect could be achieved, at least nothing further perceptible to the human eye. Thus for years the Joachim Quartet evenings have formed not only the focal point of Berlin’s musical life, but the most perfect ensemble of artists imaginable.

Whereas audiences at concerts or theatrical performances are otherwise drawn from the most varied strata of society, the listeners at Joachim’s evenings consist almost exclusively of the intellectual aristocracy of the capital. If one could ascertain all the names of those who form the devout congregation of even a single such evening, one would be astonished at the great number of eminent—some world-renowned—figures. Whatever branch of science, art, or profession they may belong to, every listener finds there stimulation and edification; each experiences hours of pure, unclouded happiness. Gratitude for these hours, and the overflowing joy that the master who has granted them to us still dwells among us in the full vigor of manhood as a shining example—this it was that suddenly set hearts aflame on that evening. However brilliant and resounding the ovations Joachim may have experienced, he may look back on none with greater pride and more heartfelt joy than on that tribute of January 25.

Arno Kleffel.

Das Joachim’sche Quartett (1894)Download

Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Like this:

Like Loading…

Odessa, Wiener Signale, February 11, 1882

10 Wednesday Jun 2026

Posted by Joachim in Concert Reviews & Criticism

≈ Leave a comment

“Odessa, den 8. Februar.” Wiener Signale. Wochenschrift für Theater und Musik (Vienna), February 11, 1882, 48–49. 

[English translation below]

__________

Odessa, den 8. Februar.

Nach den glänzenden Erfolgen und Triumphen, welche Joachim in Petersburg, Moskau und Kieff feierte, kam endlich der große Meister auch zu uns. Ich sage „endlich“, denn seit Jahren hatte man mit Sehnsucht sein Hieherkommen erwartet, umsomehr, da das hiesige Publicum Gelegenheit hatte, so ziemlich alle bedeutenden Erscheinungen der Musikwelt kennen zu lernen, und nur Joachim, obschon wiederholt angesagt, bisher der „Perle des schwarzen Meeres“ fern geblieben war. Groß waren die Erwartungen aller Musikliebhaber, und das allgemeine Interesse war so hoch gespannt, daß längst vor dem Eintreffen Joachim’s die beiden für zwei aufeinanderfolgende Abende angekündigten Concerte bereits ausverkauft waren. Er brauchte gar nicht veni vidi zu sagen, aber vici konnte der Meister wohl ausrufen, denn eines so großartigen Erfolges hatte sich bisher kein Instrumentalkünstler noch in Odessa zu erfreuen, und dies hat viel zu bedeuten in einer Stadt, wo die beiden Rubinstein, Laub, Bülow, Tausig, Wieniawski, die Florentiner, die Damen Wilt, Essipoff u. A. glänzende Erfolge hatten. Aber ein solcher Andrang des Publikums, eine solche Ueberfüllung des Börsesaales war meines Wissens noch nie hier vorgekommen, — und all’ dieß auf eine kleine Annonce, ohne irgendwelche Reclame in den Journalen (Memento Sarah Bernhardt). Dieser außerordentliche materielle Erfolg wurde jedoch noch übertroffen von dem moralischen Erfolge der beiden Concerte. Ich habe bei mehreren der obenerwähnten Künstler schon viele enthusiastische Kundgebungen miterlebt, aber solcher Ovationen, wie sie dem „Könige der Geiger“ zu Theil wurden, kann ich mich nicht erinnern. — Sehr richtig bemerkt heute eine russische Zeitung, daß im zweiten und letzten Concerte der Künstler fast während einer ganzen Stunde hindurch mit den Hervorrufen zu thun hatte, theils Stücke zugebend, theils sich verneigend vor den enthusiastischen Beifallsbezeugungen des Publikums, welches sich zum Schlusse des zweiten Concertes in dichten Massen um die Estrade sammelte, den Künstler von allen Seiten umringend. Herr Joachim mag nicht wenig erstaunt gewesen sein, als er plötzlich von der studirenden Jugend emporgehoben und nun nach russischem Brauche unter betäubenden Hurrahrufen fünf- bis sechsmal in den Lüften „gehutscht“ wurde. Und Alles dies hat Joachim nicht mit Flageolet=Stückchen, nicht mit Feuerwerks=Raketen — nein, diesen Siedepunkt des Enthusiasmus hat der große Künstler mit Bach’s „Chiaconne“ [sic], mit Tartini’s „Teufels“=Sonate, mit Spohr’s Gesangs=scene, mit Mendelssohn’s und Bruch’s Concerten hervorgebracht. Dann zweifle man noch an der Zaubergeige des „Geigerkönigs“. Allgemein und tief war das Bedauern des Odessaer Publikums, daß der Meister seinen Aufenthalt auf 2 Tage beschränken mußte; hätte er an den folgenden zwei Tagen noch zwei Concerte angezeigt, sie wären ebenso überfüllt gewesen. Auch der „Englische Club“ (des Casino unserer high-life) hatte auf den berühmten Künstler für einen Abend gerechnet und die Mitglieder waren geradezu trostlos über die Ablehnung ihrer Einladung. Ueberdieß kamen während dieser zwei Tage aus mehreren umliegenden Städten Telegramme mit der Bitte, Herrn Joachim zu bewegen, die dortigen Bewohner wenigstens mit je einem Concerte zu beglücken. Aus Kischeneff kam sogar eine solche telegrafische Bitte im Namen der gesammten dortigen Gesellschaft mit der Unterschrift des Stadtoberhauptes. Wenn nun nach dem Gesagten die Erfolge des Herrn Joachim als Künstler wirklich zu den außerordentlichsten gerechnet werden müssen, welche überhaupt je hier vorkamen, so verdient es gleichzeitig hervorgehoben zu werden, daß der große Künstler im Laufe dieser zwei unvergeßlichen Tage auch als Mensch die Sympathien aller Jener im Sturme eroberte, welche das Glück hatten, mit ihm in Berührung zu kommen. Eine seltene harmonische Vereinigung von Liebenswürdigkeit, Freundlichkeit und loyaler Collegialität, wie sie eben in Joachim’s Wesen liegen, müssen natürlich Jeden magnetisch fesseln.

In beiden Concerten des Herrn Joachim wirkte der Pianist Herr Bonawitz sowohl mit Solovorträgen, als auch accompagnirend mit, und hat nach beiden Richtungen allgemeine Anerkennung gefunden. Wenn man erwägt, wie schwierig es dem besten Pianisten wird, sich neben der mächtigen Geige eines Joachim, ohne den Nimbus einer unantastbaren Autorität, zu behaupten, so kann Herr Bonawitz mit seinem ehrenvollen und verdienten Erfolge zufrieden sein; denn er wurde nach seinen Solonummern jedesmal durch Beifall und wiederholten Hervorruf ausgezeichnet. Auch sein vortreffliches Accompagnement wurde allgemein bemerkt und in der Brahms’schen G-moll-Sonate für Clavier und Violine hat Herr Bonawitz sich als vorzüglicher Interprete des Kammermusik-Genres bekundet.

So sind denn die zwei Joachim’schen Festabende wie ein schöner Traum entschwunden; die Erinnerung daran wird lange in uns hier fortleben, und ganz Odessa hegt den Wunsch, sowie die Hoffnung, daß der Großmeister aller Geiger seinem Versprechen gemäß uns im nächsten Jahre auf längere Zeit hier besuchen werde.     R. F.

English Translation

Odessa, 8 February

After the brilliant successes and triumphs that Joachim has enjoyed in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Kiev, the great master has at last come to us as well. I say “at last,” for his arrival here has been eagerly awaited for years — all the more so because the public in this city has had ample opportunity to become acquainted with virtually all the major figures of the musical world, and only Joachim, though repeatedly announced, had until now stayed away from the “Pearl of the Black Sea.” Expectations among music lovers were very high, and public interest so intense, that long before Joachim arrived the two concerts announced for successive evenings were already sold out. He had no need to say veni, vidi, but vici he could certainly have proclaimed, for no instrumental artist in Odessa has ever before enjoyed such an overwhelming success—and that is saying a great deal in a city where both Rubinsteins, Laub, Bülow, Tausig, Wieniawski, the Florentines, Mesdames Wilt and Essipoff, and others have all met with brilliant triumphs. Yet such a crush of people, such overcrowding of the Exchange Hall, has, to my knowledge, never been seen here before — and all this in response to a small advertisement, without any sort of newspaper publicity (memento Sarah Bernhardt).

The extraordinary “material” success of these evenings was surpassed only by their artistic impact. I have been present at many enthusiastic ovations for several of the artists named above, but I cannot recall anything like the homage paid to this “king of violinists.” A Russian paper remarked very aptly today that, at the second and final concert, the artist spent almost an entire hour responding to calls back to the stage — now adding encores, now bowing in acknowledgment of the audience’s passionate applause; by the end of the concert the listeners had surged in dense masses around the platform, surrounding the artist on all sides. Joachim can hardly have been prepared for the moment when the students suddenly hoisted him aloft and, according to Russian custom, tossed him five or six times into the air amid deafening cheers. And all this Joachim achieved not with flashy showpieces of harmonics, not with musical fireworks, but with Bach’s “Chaconne”, Tartini’s “Devil’s” Sonata, Spohr’s concert aria, and the concertos of Mendelssohn and Bruch. And yet people still dare to doubt the magic of the “violin king’s” instrument!

The regret in Odessa was deep and widespread when it became known that the master would limit his stay to only two days; had he announced two further concerts on the next two evenings, they would have been equally overcrowded. The “English Club” (the casino of our high life) had also counted on securing the famous artist for one evening, and its members were frankly inconsolable when he declined their invitation. In the course of these two days, telegrams arrived from several neighboring towns asking that Joachim be persuaded to favor their inhabitants with at least a single concert. From Kishinev there even came such a telegram in the name of the entire local society, bearing the signature of the city’s chief magistrate.

If, in light of all this, we must count Joachim’s artistic success among the most extraordinary our city has ever witnessed, it is equally worth emphasizing that during these two unforgettable days the great artist also, as a human being, won the hearts of all who had the good fortune to meet him. A rare and harmonious combination of amiability, kindness, and loyal collegiality — qualities so characteristic of Joachim — naturally exerts an irresistible attraction on everyone.

At both of Joachim’s concerts the pianist Herr Bonawitz appeared both as soloist and as accompanist, earning general recognition in both roles. Considering how difficult it is even for an excellent pianist to hold his own beside the commanding violin of a Joachim, without the protective aura of unassailable authority, Herr Bonawitz can be well satisfied with his honorable and well‑deserved success; after each of his solo numbers he was greeted with strong applause and repeated recalls. His fine accompanying also attracted general notice, and in Brahms’s G‑minor Sonata for piano and violin he proved himself an outstanding interpreter of chamber music.

Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Like this:

Like Loading…

Concerts: Vienna, January, 1880

25 Monday May 2026

Posted by Joachim in Concert Reviews & Criticism

≈ 1 Comment

Concerts: Vienna, January, 1880

Wiener Signale. „Musik. Concerte.“ Wiener Signale 3, no. 4 (24 January 1880): 27–28.

[English Translation Below]


Musik.
Concerte.

– Diese Woche war besonders günstig für die Freunde wahrer Musik. Neben den klassischen Opern Mozart’s, welche in dieser Woche im Hof-Operntheater in historischer Reihenfolge vorgeführt wurden, war es der Clarissker unter den Violinisten Josef Joachim, welcher uns in zwei Concerten, wie Mozart im Theater, zeigte, was in der Kunst unvergänglich schön und was bei allen Verirrungen des Geschmacks doch allein berufen ist, die Siegespalme durch alle Zeiten zu tragen. Veni, vidi, vici, so kann Joachim, gleich Julius Cäsar, von sich sagen; denn in demselben Saale, wo man einige Tage zuvor sich von den einschmeichelnden Sirenentönen eines fremdländischen Violinisten gefangen nehmen ließ, drängte sich am vorigen Sonntag ein noch zahlreicheres Publikum, um der echten, überzeugungskräftigen Stimme eines wahren Apostels der Kunst mit voller Hingebung zu lauschen. – Im Concert mit Orchester, das Joachim am vorigen Sonntag im großen Musikvereins-Saale veranstaltete, führte uns der Meister zwei der größten Meisterwerke der Violinliteratur vor, und zwar Spohr’s 9. Concert in D-moll und zum Schlusse Beethoven’s Concert. Es schien als ob Joachim in der Wiedergabe dieser wunderbaren Ton­dichtungen sich selbst übertroffen hätte und bildeten Spiel und Composition ein so unzertrennliches Ganze, daß bei dieser Vollendung der Interpretation die beiden Werke erschienen, als würden sie soeben von den Ton­dichtern selbst improvisirt. Das bildet eben die große nicht genug zu rühmende Eigenschaft im Spiele Joachim’s, daß man bei ihm den Virtuosen vergißt und sich in voller Ungetrübtheit dem reinen Genusse des Meisterwerkes hingeben kann. In seiner Selbstlosigkeit bewährt sich dieses echten Künstlers Größe, welcher durch sein Spiel, trotz aller bewundernswerthen technischen Qualitäten, nicht äußerlich zu blenden, sondern innerlich zu überzeugen sucht. Es ist selbstverständlich, daß Joachim nach dem Vortrag dieser beiden Werke durch stürmische Hervorrufe ausgezeichnet wurde, welche am Schlusse des Concertes nicht früher endeten, als bis er sich zur Zugabe zweier Sätze aus einer der Bach’schen Violin-Sonaten entschloß. – Neu waren in diesem Concerte die von Joachim zum erstenmale vorgetragenen Variationen mit Orchester seiner Composition, ein nicht bloß den Schwierigkeiten einer außerordentlichen Violin-Technik, sondern auch den Anforderungen an geistvolle musikalische Conception volle Rechnung tragendes Werk, das in der Ausführung Joachim’s seiner außerordentlichen Wirkung, wie hier, auch überall sicher sein wird. – Unterstützt wurde der Concertgeber durch das von Director Hellmesbergertrefflich geleitete Orchester und durch die sehr beifällig aufgenommenen Gesangs-Vorträge des Herrn David Ney, Opernsängers des National-Theaters in Pest, dessen prachtvolle, tiefe Baritonstimme sich durch musikalisch schönen Vortrag in Brahms’ „Von ewiger Liebe“ und Schubert’s „Wanderer“ zu bewähren Gelegenheit fand, so daß er zu einer Zugabe eines von Clara Schumann componirten Liedes sich veranlaßt sah. 

– Das zweite Concert Joachim’s am Mittwoch im Saale Bösendorfer hatte einen in jeder Hinsicht sensationellen Erfolg. Hunderte von Personen konnten aus Mangel an Raum keinen Einlaß finden und der Vorsaal war ebenso gedrängt voll Zuhörer, als der Saal selbst. Das Concert wurde eröffnet mit Schumann’s tiefsinniger und an poetischen Schönheiten reicher Sonate in A-moll für Clavier und Violine. In welch geistvoller, rhythmisch prägnanter Weise Joachim Schumann’s Werke interpretiert, ist bekannt. Der Concertgeber fand am Clavier in Herrn Bonawitz einen würdigen Partner, der den Intentionen dieses schönen Werkes in jeder Hinsicht gerecht wurde. Wiederholte Hervorrufe folgten diesem Vortrag. Die hierauf von Joachim vorgebrachten Sätze aus Bach’s erster Violin-Solo-Sonate Adagio und Fuge, gespielt wie eben nur Joachim einzig und allein Bach zu spielen versteht, entfes­selten einen solchen Sturm von Beifall, daß der Künstler den letzten Satz wiederholte. Das gleiche Schicksal hatten die vier kleineren Piecen: Adagio von Hiller, Barcarole von Spohr, Caprice von Paganini und zwei ungarische Tänze (Nr. 9 und 10) von Brahms, wovon die letztgenannten wiederholt wurden. Das Quartett in E-moll von Beethoven, meisterhaft vorgetragen von dem Concertgeber und dem Herrn Director Hellmesberger (Viola) und den Professoren Hellmesberger jun. und Hummer, war der würdige Schluß dieses überaus genußreichen Abends. Das Auditorium wollte den Saal gar nicht verlassen und wurde nicht müde, den Künstler unzählige Male hervorzurufen. Auch die Gesangs-Vorträge des Frl. Rachel Büchler, welche zwei schöne Lieder von Hensberger und einige Gesangs-Perlen der Brahms’schen Tonmusik, worunter das reizende Lied „Des Liebsten Schwur“ mit dem Aufgebot ihrer sehr sympathischen Stimme und ihrer aus der trefflichen Schule Professor Gänsbacher’s hervorgegangenen geschmackvollen Methode zum Besten gab, erfreuten sich allgemeinen Beifalls.

Cz.


English Translation

Music.
Concerts.

This week was particularly favorable for friends of true music. Alongside the classical operas of Mozart, which were presented this week at the Court Opera Theatre in historical sequence, it was the classicist among violinists, Joseph Joachim, who in two concerts, as Mozart in the theatre, showed us what in art is imperishably beautiful and what, amid all aberrations of taste, alone is called to bear the palm of victory through all ages. “Veni, vidi, vici,” Joachim can say of himself, like Julius Caesar; for in the same hall where a few days earlier people had allowed themselves to be captivated by the ingratiating siren-tones of a foreign violinist, last Sunday an even more numerous audience thronged together in order to listen with complete devotion to the genuine, powerfully persuasive voice of a true apostle of art. In the concert with orchestra that Joachim gave last Sunday in the great hall of the Musikverein, the master presented us with two of the greatest masterpieces of the violin literature, namely Spohr’s Ninth Concerto in D minor and, in conclusion, Beethoven’s Concerto. It seemed as though in the reproduction of these wonderful tone-poems Joachim had surpassed himself, and performance and composition formed so inseparable a whole that, in the perfection of this interpretation, the two works appeared as if they were being improvised on the spot by the tone-poets themselves. This is precisely the great quality in Joachim’s playing that cannot be praised enough: that with him one forgets the virtuoso and can surrender in completely undisturbed fashion to the pure enjoyment of the masterwork. In his selflessness the greatness of this true artist proves itself, who through his playing, despite all its admirable technical qualities, does not seek outwardly to dazzle, but inwardly to convince. It goes without saying that after the performance of these two works Joachim was honored with stormy recalls, which did not cease at the end of the concert until he decided to give as an encore two movements from one of Bach’s violin sonatas. New in this concert were the variations with orchestra of his own composition, performed by Joachim for the first time, a work that does full justice not only to the difficulties of an extraordinary violin technique, but also to the demands of a spirited musical conception, and which, in Joachim’s performance, will certainly achieve its extraordinary effect everywhere, as it did here. The concert giver was supported by the orchestra, excellently directed by Director Hellmesberger, and by the very favorably received vocal performances of Mr. David Ney, an opera singer at the National Theatre in Pest, whose magnificent, deep baritone voice had the opportunity to prove itself through musically beautiful renderings of Brahms’s “Von ewiger Liebe” and Schubert’s “Der Wanderer,” so that he was moved to give an encore of a song composed by Clara Schumann.Joachim’s second concert, on Wednesday in the Bösendorfer Hall, was in every respect a sensational success. Hundreds of people could not gain admission for lack of space, and the anteroom was as densely packed with listeners as the hall itself. The concert opened with Schumann’s sonata in A minor for piano and violin, profound and rich in poetic beauties. In what spirited and rhythmically trenchant manner Joachim interprets Schumann’s works is well known. At the piano the concert giver found in Mr. Bonawitz a worthy partner, who in every respect did justice to the intentions of this beautiful work. Repeated recalls followed this performance. The movements from Bach’s first solo sonata for violin, Adagio and Fugue, which Joachim then performed, played as only Joachim knows how to play Bach, unleashed such a storm of applause that the artist repeated the final movement. The same fate befell the four shorter pieces: an Adagio by Hiller, a Barcarole by Spohr, a Caprice by Paganini, and two Hungarian Dances (Nos. 9 and 10) by Brahms, of which the last-named were encored. The Quartet in E minor by Beethoven, masterfully performed by the concert giver and Director Hellmesberger (viola) and Professors Hellmesberger Jr. and Hummer, formed the worthy conclusion to this thoroughly enjoyable evening. The audience was unwilling to leave the hall at all and did not tire of calling the artist back countless times. The vocal performances of Miss Rachel Büchler, who gave two lovely songs by Hensberger and several vocal gems of Brahmsian art music, among them the charming song “Des Liebsten Schwur,” making the most of her very sympathetic voice and her tasteful method acquired in the excellent school of Professor Gänsbacher, likewise met with general applause.

Cz.

Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Like this:

Like Loading…

Concert: London Philharmonic Debut, 1844 St. James’s Chronicle

21 Tuesday Apr 2026

Posted by Joachim in Concert Reviews & Criticism

≈ Leave a comment

“Philharmonic Concerts.” St. James’s Chronicle (London). May 28, 1844.


PHILHARMONIC CONCERTS

The violin playing of the youth Joachim filled every body with admiration and amazement. The concerto (Beethoven’s, in D major) which he performed, is usually shrunk from by men of the most eminent standing, and has only been ventured in public, we believe, by Mori, Blagrove, and Eliason, and then with no very complete success. We are not speaking too extravagantly of little Joachim, when we say that he distances all three—even the first of them, great and wonderful as he was. That a boy of 13 or 14 years of age should play with considerable dexterity, is in these days of precocious acquirement, no great marvel; but that his dexterity should wear every aspect of perfection both as to style and to intonation—that there should be a tone prevalent remarkable for its purity and equality of character—that at the extremest distances under circumstances the most trying should be hit with a never-failing readiness and precision—that there should be superadded to these attainments masterly feeling and a perfect comprehension of music the most elevated and ideal—that all these things should be, we say, united in a child, are facts which both puzzle and confound! The presence of the lad in the orchestra, with his smiling, ingenuous face, his collars turned down upon his shoulders,1 and his pockets, in all probability, stuffed with marbles and whipcord, is no doubt a sight to stagger the grey heads. But there he stands, grasping his fiddle with the ease and confidence of a Paganini, taking the lead of the Philharmonic professors, and giving them their cues, as if the whole process were but a trifle—a mere boyish pastime. Joachim’s performances may be measured by any standard; his style is pure and unaffected; his execution perfect; his feeling artistic and intense. The cadenzas which he appended to the slow movement, and the finale of the concerto, contained passages of the greatest difficulty; but yet he accomplished them without a speck of error. We understand they are his own invention; and they are so consonant with the prevalent character of the music to which they are annexed, and have such an air of symmetry and proportion, that they might almost be supposed an integral part of the composition. This performance, of course, was received with the strongest manifestations of pleasure, in which the orchestra evidently shared; and there were few present, we suspect, who did not confess it to be the most extraordinary instance of early talent and attainment they had ever encountered. The effect was produced by the most legitimate means: it was fair, honest playing—the executancy of a master, the intelligence and sensibility of a musician! The jacket and trousers were utterly forgotten.

  1. https://josephjoachim.com/2014/01/07/joseph-joachim-early-daguerreotype-ca-1844/ ↩︎

Concert- London Philharmonic Debut, 1844 St. James’s ChronicleDownload

Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Like this:

Like Loading…

Joachim at the Società del Quartetto (Milan, 1880)

17 Thursday Apr 2025

Posted by Joachim in Concert Reviews & Criticism

≈ 1 Comment

Gazzetta Musicale di Milano,  XXXV, January 18, 1880
[English translation (c) Robert W. Eshbach, 2025] 


JOACHIM
AT THE SOCIETÀ DEL QUARTETTO

            Last Tuesday, a crowd of friends and admirers accompanied the prince of modern violinists to the Central Station, where he was heading to Venice, and disappeared like a bright meteor after having dazzled our minds, in his all-too-brief stay among us, with the vivid brilliance of his genius. It was not only a feeling of admiration and gratitude for the noble emotions he had provided that prompted such a demonstration, but above all the sympathy earned by one who combines the eminent qualities of the artist with the most exquisite traits of courtesy and modesty. Deeply moved, he shook everyone’s hand, promising to return soon: quod est in votis! [which is what we wish for!]

            For several years, the management of the Società del Quartetto had made efforts to have him at its concerts, but his very serious commitments had never allowed him to accept the invitation. Joachim is a professor at the Berlin Conservatory and gives 12 lessons a week to about 250 students at the Hochschule. Among these, there is one who gives the highest hopes and to whom he predicts a splendid future—an Italian: a Melani from Naples. Although this was the first time he played in Italy, he had already visited our country before and had even decided to spend the winter of 1862–63 here, when this plan changed after meeting Mrs. Amalia Weiss, a contralto, then the prima donna at the Opera Theater in Hanover, where Joachim conducted the Royal Concerts. He married her in 1863 and they had many children. Mrs. Joachim is an excellent artist who has a great reputation especially in the oratorio genre.

            Joseph Joachim was born in Kittsee, Hungary, in 1831. He received his first musical instruction at the age of 5 from an excellent musician, the concertmaster of the opera in Pest: the Pole Szewacinsky [recte: Stanisław Serwaczyński (1791–1859)], who especially trained his left hand. His vocation was decided by the fact that, as a boy, upon hearing his sister taking singing lessons, he expressed the desire to accompany her. For this, he was given a violin, on which he soon learned to play simple melodies, so he was immediately given the best teacher.

            The first time he performed in public he was seven years old, playing with his teacher a Concertante for two violins by Eck, and Variations by Pegatsche [recte: Franz Xaver Pecháček (1793–1840)]. — A curious judgment was pronounced about him which I wish to relate: his right hand, in terms of bow handling, had been so neglected in favor of the left, that Prof. Hellmesberger, father of the current director of the Vienna Conservatory, alarmed, declared that he would never be able to overcome this defect! As you see, he was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet. However, Joachim’s relatives, on Ernst’s advice, entrusted him to Professor Böhm, a pupil of Rode, in whose home he lived until the age of 12 and received private instruction while also attending the Vienna Conservatory. It is known that he then studied under David in Leipzig, and David, mentioning the students who had brought him honor, liked to recall a famous concert also mentioned by Fétis, in which the fourteen-year-old Joachim, with our Bazzini, Ernst, and David himself, drew applause from the audience. I thought it interesting for readers to gather these notes, which they will not find in Fétis or other biographical dictionaries.

*
*     *

            I had never heard Joachim before, and after Wilhelmi [August Wilhelmj (1845–1908)] it seemed to me that nothing more could be achieved. And yet!… and so it is that our taste is constantly refined, that our desires grow in direct proportion to the satisfactions we have experienced, the aspirations fulfilled, the needs already met, and in the end we realize the truth of the saying: ars longa, vita brevis [art is long, life is short]. At first, I tried to draw a comparison between Wilhelmi and Joachim; but aside from the difficulty, I realized the futility of such a task:—however, I think I can define my impression by comparing the first to primitive man, to man-in-nature where everything is still spontaneity and untamed fire, where instinct predominates and the senses are at their keenest, where physical development is at its peak:—the other is the product of civilization, the refined man, in whom education has corrected nature’s exuberance and the mind has tempered the force and impulse of sensations, in whom reason and heart have ennobled the passions:—if my reader were a sportsman, I would say: one is the Arabian horse with flaring nostrils and fiery eyes, the other the English thoroughbred who has preserved the qualities of the desert’s son, enhanced by the fruits of wise breeding.

*
*     *

            The three concerts given by Joachim for the Società del Quartetto were a true revelation for me, and I am pleased to note that they were so also for that attentive audience, which year after year is educating itself to the most exquisite manifestations of serious art. The programs, compiled with perfect measure, allowed us to appreciate every aspect of that extraordinary performer and at the same time satisfied the demands of the strictest purism. Joachim does not claim the title of composer, although the andante of his Hungarian Concerto has demonstrated his talent: of this rare, almost unique, reserve in speaking of himself through his violin (a reserve almost unique among artists), he gave proof worthy of honor by not filling the programs with his own compositions, instead teaching us to venerate, through him, the greatest masters. Beethoven and Bach are Joachim’s two idols; I believe that in saying this I have praised his artistic soul; the interpretation he has achieved shows the loving devotion with which he surrounds them;—and now let us enter directly into the vast field of his qualities.

            Joachim is above all and especially a performer of style such as no other; he has a reputation for being unrivaled in uncovering the hidden treasures of Bach, in perfectly grasping all his intentions and rendering them so that they appear as clear as they were in the mind of that boundless genius. I will never forget what I felt hearing the Suite in E major (prelude, minuet, gavotte) at the second concert, and that Sarabande which he chose to play at the third concert after repeated requests for an encore of the Chaconne. Joachim marvelously captures that lofty style, that marked originality, that boldness of harmony, those miracles of contrapuntal mastery that seal Bach’s works: he reveals, one by one, the resources with which the great composer came to the aid of ungrateful and sometimes rather baroque themes. He makes intelligible that development of highly complex parts which would otherwise appear only as a labyrinth. — At the home of Consul Struth, where I spent a memorable evening with Joachim, Bazzini, Sessa, and Arrigo Boito, he gave proof at the same time of his prodigious memory, the long study, and the great love with which he has delved into that composer.

            The Chaconne he played at the last concert, a splendid piece taken from the Second Sonata for violin, with those admirable variations that are at once spontaneous and unexpected, would alone suffice to demonstrate Joachim’s superiority over Wilhelmi, a superiority evident even from those statements of the theme which Wilhelmi attacked with a bit too much roughness. — Joachim is supreme in his sense of rhythm, and this is one of the qualities that make him a delightful interpreter, considering how much it sometimes takes to distinguish one part from another.

            He is always restrained; he is the true nobleman who knows that his wealth stands out through nobility and solidity of bearing, not through the flashy garments of a charlatan. Some small precious touches that I sometimes concede to his insatiable need to be more perfect than perfection itself do not undermine what I say; all his effects come from a proper balance. He never sacrifices to triviality or to that false idea of passion which the common crowd believes is achieved, for example, by dragging out a cadence with its resolution suspended, or by mumbling phrases and turning every leap into a chromatic scale. All violinists of some renown play Mendelssohn’s Concerto, but how many play it like Joachim? The Concerto is a classic; it is not a powerful conception like those of Beethoven, but it has a rightness of form, an elegance, a delicacy, an attention to detail that is found only in good models. The same cannot be said of Spohr’s, which is not a spontaneous creation; it lacks the vital breath and often falls into the most disagreeable mannerism. Joachim has perfect intonation. He is an exquisite colorist; he plays with passion, has notes of infinite sweetness, and when he laments, his violin has heartrending accents; his pianissimos are like the murmurs of a distant brook; his outbursts make you think of an entire orchestra; he has a variety of sounds, now resembling the viola, now the clarinet; his pizzicatos are those of a harp. He played that divine andante from Beethoven’s Quartet in C major (Op. 59) in a way that made one fall in love; he also performed a beautiful Romance in F by Beethoven, which, if I am not mistaken, was written with orchestral accompaniment. And here, I find it fitting to lament that the season did not allow the Society to have an orchestra, which would have better supported even the magnificent Concerto in G minor by Max Bruch.

            Joachim also has the right intuition for the style of different composers, even when, rather than a marked style, it is the result of complex and not well-defined tendencies. This is evidenced by his performance of the Sonata in A minor and especially the Fantasia (Op. 121) by Schumann, bristling with difficulties and abstruseness. Schumann was for a long time little appreciated, and even now, although his supporters have greatly increased, the general public, even in his own country, still greets him rather coldly. He wants to express everything through his music, everything that stirs within him, and sometimes he is not very clear, either because he does not have time to clarify his sensations, or because his impressions are indefinable, or even because he lacks the technical musical knowledge which he came to grips with only at a rather advanced age. Nevertheless, one feels in him to the highest degree that German idealism which our public finds hard to appreciate, and which led them to value little even the Novellettes, a type of period composition, in which there are indeed sentimental and truly charming ingenuous things, and which were among the best interpretations of the pianist Bonawitz.

            Of Joachim as a virtuoso in the sense of overcoming difficulty, everything can be said in a word: he knows none. Leaps, arpeggios, dizzying scales, trills of phenomenal purity and fluidity, double and triple stops, etc., etc., are child’s play to him. Consider the Sonata by Tartini, a stupendous composition which the author considered his best, known as the Devil’s Sonata, because he wrote it after awakening from a dream in which Mephistopheles appeared to him with a violin in hand. Since Paganini, an old friend told me, no one has played it like that!

            Among the old violin schools, Joachim considers the best to be the one formed by Viotti, Rode, Kreutzer, and Baillot. Paganini, the greatest genius of this instrument and one of the most phenomenal, diabolical artistic natures, was too subjective to form a school. His imitators have mostly taken from him what amazes the masses and sometimes even flatters their weaker tendencies. The true, immortal, and unsurpassable Paganini, says Joachim, is revealed in his compositions, in the stupendous 24 Caprices.

            Joachim is not an exclusivist; as a true artist, he accepts and cultivates the beauty of all schools. Among the moderns, he has a favorite, and that is Brahms, whom he considers the greatest symphonist. He attended a popular concert performance of that composer’s Second Symphony and expressed his admiration in the highest terms. I regret not being able to fully share it, as I recently wrote here, and not being able to join the opinion of the famous critic Hanslick, who calls Brahms’s symphonies the Tenth and Eleventh Symphony!

            I asked Joachim what he thought of the music of the future, and he replied: “I do not know the music of the future. The music of the future is our greatest masters.” He believes that Wagner, with his most original spirit, has said good things about opera and has done even better in his own works, and that in this sense he may remain of real influence;—however, much in his works appeals little to him; nevertheless, he added, one must not confuse him with the crowd of those who, under the cloak of a great name, go hunting for a semblance of originality, with piquantly piled-up phrases and a perfect ignorance of the laws established by the great masters.

*
*     *

            Before closing this note, in which I have tried to outline this giant figure, I must offer sincere words of praise to Mr. Bonawitz, who has perhaps remained a bit in the shadow of the colossus, but is worthy to stand at his side as a perfect accompanist who intuits and supports his intentions—and he also gave some excellent interpretations of his own. I also wish to praise without reservation Messrs. De-Angelis, Cernicchiaro, and Mattioli, who, in Haydn’s Quartet in D major (Op. 64) and in the aforementioned Beethoven quartet, formed a fine ensemble around Joachim; they had the good fortune to be praised and thanked by him personally. That should suffice!

Il Misovulgo.


JOACHIM
ALLA SOCIETÀ DEL QUARTETTO

            Martedì scorso uno stuolo di amici ed estimatori accompagnava alla stazione Centrale il principe dei violinisti moderni, recantesi a Venezia, il quale spariva, meteora luminosa, dopo aver, nel troppo breve suo soggiorno fra noi, abbagliato le nostre menti collo splendore vivissimo del suo genio. Non era solo un sentimento di ammirazione e di riconoscenza per chi ei aveva procurato le più nobili emozioni che a tale dimostrazione ei spingeva, ma anche e soprattutto la simpatia che seppe acquistarsi chi accoppia alle qualità eminenti dell’artista e più squisite doti di cortesia e di modestia. Profondamente commosso egli stringeva la mano a tutti promettendo di ritornare fra breve: quod est in votis!

*
*     *

            Da varî anni la Direzione del Quartetto aveva fatto pratiche per averlo ai suoi concerti, se nonchè le gravissime sue occupazioni non gli avevano concesso mai di arrendersi all’invito. Joachim è professore al Conservatorio di Berlino e dà 12 lezioni alla settimana a circa 250 allievi della Hochschule. Fra questi ve n’ha uno che dà le più belle speranze di sè ed al quale egli crede serbato uno splendido avvenire, ed è un italiano: un Melani di Napoli. Sebbene questa sia la prima volta che ha suonato in Italia, già prima d’ora aveva visitato il nostro paese, ed anzi aveva deciso di passarvi l’inverno 1862 63, allorquando venne a mutare questo progetto la conoscenza ch’egli fece della signora Amalia Veis, contralto, allora prima donna al teatro dell’Opera di Hannover, ove Joachim dirigeva i Regi Concerti. Egli la sposò nel 1863 e n’ebbe molti figli. La signora Joachim è un’egregia artista che ha una grande reputazione specialmente pel genere oratorî.

            Giuseppe Joachim è nato a Kjtse, in Ungheria, nel 1831. Ebbe la prima istruzione musicale all’età di 5 anni da un ottimo musicista, maestro concertatore dell’opera in Pest: il polacco Szewacinsky, il quale formò specialmente la sua mano sinistra. La sua vocazione fu decisa dal fatto che udendo da ragazzetto sua sorella che prendeva lezioni di canto, manifestò il desiderio di poterla accompagnare: per

18

Cui gli venne regalato un violino sul quale in breve imparava a suonare piccole melodie talchè gli si diede tosto il miglior maestro.

            La prima volta ch’egli si produsse in pubblico aveva sette anni e suonava col suo maestro un Concertante per due violini di Eck, e Variazioni di Pegatsche. — Fu pronunciato un curioso giudizio su di lui che voglio riferire: la sua mano dritta riguardo al maneggio dell’arco era stata così trascurata a profitto della sinistra, che il prof. Hellmesberger, padre dell’attuale direttore del Conservatorio di Vienna, spaventato, dichiarò che mai avrebbe potuto superare questo difetto! Come vedete, non era profeta nè figlio di profeta. Però i parenti di Joachim lo affidarono, dietro consiglio di Ernst, al professore Böhm, uno scolare di Rode, nella casa del quale dimorò fino al 12.° anno ed ebbe insegnamento privato frequentando in pari tempo il Conservatorio di Vienna. È noto che studiò quindi sotto David a Lipsia, e questi citandomi gli allievi che gli avevan fatto onore, amava ricordare un famoso concerto di cui parla anche il Fétis, nel quale Joachim quattordicenne, col nostro Bazzini, Ernst e David stesso, strapparono gli applausi dal pubblico. M’è parso interessante per i lettori di raccogliere questi cenni che non troveranno nè sul Fétis nè su altri dizionari biografici.

*
*     *

            Io non aveva mai udito Joachim, e dopo Wilhelmi mi pareva che non si potesse far di più. Eppure!… ed è così che continuamente ei andiamo raffinando il gusto, che i nostri desiderî crescono in ragione diretta delle soddisfazioni avule, delle aspirazioni realizzate, dei bisogni già contentati e ei accorgiamo in ultimo della verità dell’adagio: ars longa vita brevis. M’ero provato dapprima a far un parallelo fra Wilhelmi e Joachim; ma oltrechè della difficoltà, m’accorsi della sterilità di un simile lavoro: – sembrami però poter definire l’impressione mia risultante paragonando il primo all’uomo primitivo, all’uomo-natura in cui tutto è ancora spontaneità e fuoco indomato, in cui predominante è l’istinto e superlativo l’acuimento dei sensi, in cui lo sviluppo fisico è all’apogeo: – l’altro è il portato dell’incivilimento, l’uomo raffinato, nel quale l’educazione ha corretto l’esuberanza della natura e la mente ha temperato la foga e l’impeto delle sensazioni, nel quale la ragione ed il cuore hanno ingentilito le passioni: – se il mio lettore fosse un uomo di sport gli direi: l’uno è il cavallo arabo dalle nari fumanti, dall’occhio di fuoco, l’altro il puro sangue inglese che del figlio del deserto ha conservato le qualità accresciute dai frutti di un sapiente allevamento di razze.

*
*     *

            I tre concerti dati da Joachim alla Società del Quartetto furono per me una vera rivelazione e mi compiaccio di notare che lo furono anche per quell’attento pubblico, il quale va d’anno in anno educandosi alle più squisite manifestazioni dell’arte severa. I programmi compilati con

perfetta misura erano tali da farci conoscere sotto tutti i lati quel portentoso esecutore ed in pari tempo soddisfacevano alle esigenze del più rigoroso purismo. Joachim non la pretende al titolo di compositore, sebbene l’andante del suo Concerto Ungherese ce ne abbia dimostrato la valentia: di questa sua ritrosia a parlare di sè col suo violino (ritrosia più che rara unica negli artisti) diede una prova che lo onora col non infarcire i programmi di sue composizioni, insegnandoci invece a venerare, per mezzo suo, i sommi.

            Beethoven e Bach sono i due idoli di Joachim; mi pare con ciò aver fatto l’elogio della sua anima d’artista; l’interpretazione che è arrivato a darne mostra l’amorevole culto di cui li circonda; – ed ora entriamo di botto nel vastissimo campo delle sue qualità.

            Joachim è prima di tutto e sovratutto un esecutore di stile come non ve n’ha altri; egli ha fama d’essere inarrivabile nello sminuzzare gli ascosi tesori di Bauli, nell’intuirne perfettamente tutte le intenzioni e renderle in modo che appaian chiare come erano chiare davanti alla mente di quel genio sconfinato. Non dimenticherò mai quel che ho provato udendo la Suite in mi maggiore (preludio, minuetto, gavotta) del secondo concerto, e quella Sarabanda che volle dare nel terzo concerto dopo che si chiedeva insistentemente il bis della Ciaccona. Joachim afferra in modo meraviglioso quello stile elevato, quella marcata originalità, quell’arditezza d’armonia, quei miracoli di sapienza contrappuntistica che suggellano le opere di Bach: egli mostra ad una ad una le risorse colle quali il grande compositore veniva in aiuto a temi ingrati e talvolta un po’ barocchi. Egli rende intelligibile quello sviluppo di parti complicatissime che altrimenti non appaiono che come un labirinto. — In casa del console Struth, ove passai con Joachim, Bazzini, Sessa e Arrigo Boito una memorabile serata, egli ei dava prova in pari tempo che della sua prodigiosa memoria, del lungo studio e del grande amore col quale ha sviscerato quell’autore.

            La Chaconne che suonò nell’ultimo concerto, splendido pezzo tolto dalla Seconda Sonata per violino, con quelle variazioni ammirabili che riescono insieme spontanee od inaspettate, basterebbe a dimostrare la superiorità di Joachim su Wilhelmi, superiorità palese fino da quelle affermazioni del tema che Wilhelmi attaccava con un po’ troppa ruvidezza. – Joachim è sovrano nel sentire il ritmo e questa è una delle qualità che ne fanno un interprete delizioso quando si pensa a quel che basta talvolta a distinguere una parte dall’altra.   

            È castigato sempre; è il vero gran signore il quale sa che la sua ricchezza risalta dalla nobiltà, dalla sodezza del portamento, non dalle vesti sfarzose da cerretano; qualche piccola preziosità che concedo talvolta al bisogno insaziabile di essere più perfetto della perfezione, non infirma il mio dire; i suoi effetti li cava tutti da un giusto equilibrio; non sagritìca mai alla trivialità nè a quella falsa idea del-l’appassionato che i volgari credono ottenuta, per esempio, smezzando una cadenza di cui tengono sospesa la risoluzione o biascicando frasi facendo d’ogni salto una scala cromatica. Tutti i violinisti di qualche grido, suonano il Concerto di Mendelssohn, ma quanti lo suonano come Joachim? Il Concerto è classico; non è una potente concezione come quelli di Beethoven, ma è di una giusta quadratura, di un’eleganza, di una delicatezza, di un’accuratezza di dettagli che non si riscontra che nei buoni modelli. Non si potrebbe dire altrettanto di quello di Spohr che non è una creazione di getto; vi manca il soffio vitale e spesso cade nel barocchismo più antipatico. Joachim è di una giustezza d’intonazione perfetta. È un coloritore squisito; canta con passione, ha note di una dolcezza infinita, e quando geme, il suo violino ha accenti strazianti; i suoi pianissimi sono mormori di un ruscello lontano; i suoi impeti ti fanno pensare ad un’orchestra intiera; ha una varietà di suoni, che ora arieggiano la viola ed ora il clarinetto; i suoi pizzicati sono quelli di un’arpa.

            Ha suonato quel divino andante del Quartetto in do maggiore (Op. 59) di Beethoven, in modo da innamorare; di Beethoven ei diè pure una bella Romanza in fa^ la quale, se non erro, fu scritta con accompagnamento d’orchestra. E qui, mi viene acconcio lamentare che la stagione non permettesse alla Società di disporre di un’orchestra, la quale avrebbe sostenuto meglio anche il bellissimo Concerto in sol minore di Max Bruch.

            Joachim ha inoltre la giusta intuizione dello stile dei diversi autori anche quando piuttosto che stile marcato è il risultato di tendenze complesse e non ben definite. Ne fa fede l’esecuzione della Sonata in la minore e sopratutto della Fantasia (Op. 121) di Schumann, irta di difficoltà e di astru-

19

serie. Schumann fu per lungo tempo poco apprezzato, ed ora ancora, sebbene i suoi partigiani si siano grandemente accresciuti, la grande generalità dei pubblici, anche del suo paese natio, gli fa viso poco benevolo. Egli vuol esprimer tutto colla sua musica, tutto quanto si agita in lui, e riesce talvolta poco chiaro, o perchè non ha il tempo di stenebrare le sue sensazioni, o perchè le sue impressioni sono indefinibili, od anche perchè gli fanno difetto le cognizioni tecniche musicali, delle quali tardò ad impratichirsi in età già avanzata. Del resto, si sente in lui in sommo grado l’idealismo tedesco a cui difficilmente s’accosta il nostro pubblico il quale apprezzò poco anche le Novellette, specie di composizione a periodo, in cui pure sonvi cose sentimentali e ingenue veramente graziose, e furono fra le migliori interpretazioni del pianista Bonawitz.

            Di Joachim virtuoso nel senso della difficoltà da superare, è detto tutto in una parola: non ne conosce. Salti, arpeggi, scale vorticose, trilli di una purezza e fluidità fenomenali, note doppie e triple, ecc., ecc., sono giuochi per lui. Informi la Sonata di Tartini, stupenda composizione che l’autore riputava la migliore fra le sue, conosciuta sotto il nome di Sonata del Diavolo, perchè la scrisse al destarsi da un sogno ove gli era apparso Mefistofele col violino in mano. Da Paganini in poi, mi diceva un vecchio amico, nessuno l’ha suonata così!

            Joachim fra le scuole di violino antiche, reputa la migliore quella formata da Viotti, Rode, Kreutzer e Baillot. Paganini, il più gran genio di questo strumento ed una delle più fenomenali diaboliche nature d’artista, era troppo soggettivo per poter formare una scuola. I suoi imitatori hanno per lo più preso da lui quello che desta stupore presso la gran massa e talvolta anche ne lusinga le deboli tendenze. Il vero, immortale e inarrivabile Paganini, dice Joachim, si manifesta nelle sue composizioni, negli stupendi 24 Capricci.

            Joachim non è esclusivista; da vero artista ammette e coltiva il bello di tutte le scuole. Fra i moderni, ha un beniamino, e questo è Brahms, ch’egli ritiene il più grande sinfonista. Egli assisteva, in un concerto popolare, all’esecuzione della Seconda Sinfonia di quel compositore, ed esprimeva altamente la sua ammirazione. Mi duole di non condividerla appieno come di recente qui stesso scrivevo, e di non associarmi all’opinione del celebre critico Hanslick, il quale chiama le Sinfonie di Brahms, la Decima e l’Undecima Sinfonia!

            Io ho chiesto a Joachim cosa pensasse della musica dell’avvenire, ed egli mi ha risposto: «Non conosco musica dell’avvenire. La musica dell’avvenire sono i nostri sommi maestri.» Egli crede che Wagner, dallo spirito originalissimo, abbia detto buone cose sull’opera e ne abbia fatto di migliori nelle sue opere e che in questo senso possa rimanere di reale influenza; – molto però nei lavori di lui gli riesce poco simpatico; tuttavia, soggiungeva, non bisogna confonderlo colla turba di quelli che sotto il manto di un gran nome, vanno a caccia di un sembiante d’originalità, con frasi piccantemente accatastate ed una perfetta ignoranza delle leggi stabilite dai grandi autori.

*
*     *

            Prima di chiuder questo cenno, nel quale mi son provato a delineare, questa gigantesca figura, bisogna che rivolga parole di lode sincera al signor Bonawitz, il quale appunto è rimasto un po’ nell’ombra del colosso, ma è degno di stargli al fianco come perfetto accompagnatore che indovina ed asseconda le intenzioni sue – e ei ha dato di suo alcune egregie interpretazioni. Voglio lodare anche senza restrizione i signori De-Angelis, Cernicchiaro e Mattioli, che nel Quartetto in re mag. (Op. 64) di Haydn e in quello di Beethoven già citato, fecero bella corona a Joachim; essi hanno avuto la fortuna di essere da questi stesso, encomiati e ringraziati. Può bastare!

Il Misovulgo.

Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Like this:

Like Loading…

Joachim in Italy (1880)

16 Wednesday Apr 2025

Posted by Joachim in Concert Reviews & Criticism

≈ 1 Comment

Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, 6 February 1880: 75.

[English translation below (c) Robert W. Eshbach, 2025]


Château Valrose, Nice

Joachim in Italien

            Deutsche Kunst fährt gegenwärtig fort, in Italien sich ungewöhnliche Sympathien zu erwerben, die sensationellsten Erfolge zu erringen. Jetzt war es Joseph Joachim, welcher in Oberitalien einem Triumphzug gleiche Siege feierte, was um so mehr sagen will, da der Italiener wohl die Gründlichkeit bei deutschen Virtuosen bereitwilligst schätzt und anerkennt, dagegen den künstlerischen Funken sehr häufig bei ihnen vermißt und nur zu gern für sich allein in Anspruch nimmt.

            J.‘s erstes Concert fand in Nizza statt, wo der reiche russische Baron v. Derwies sich unter Leitung des geistvollen Müller-Berghaus ein ausgezeichnetes Privatorchester hält. Als D. erfuhr, daß Joachim dort concertiren wolle, stellte er ihm sein Orchester und seinen prachtvollen Concertsaal kostenfrei zur Verfügung, eine Auszeichnung, welche bisher noch keinem Künstler widerfahren war. Andrang und Aufnahme waren so stürmisch und enthusiastisch, daß der Reinertrag des dortigen Concertes 5000 Frs. betrug.

            Am Glanzvollsten aber gestaltete sich Joachims Empfang in Mailand. „Kaum hatte der Großmeister aller Violinisten die ersten Tacte von Spohr’s ‚Gesangscene‘ gespielt, so brach ein Beifallsturm los, der sich während des ganzen Stückes, fast nach jedem achten Takte, wiederholte.“ Joachim selbst erklärte: einen ähnlichen Erfolg bisher nicht erlebt zu haben, und wer Joachims Erfolge in Deutschland, Paris, England etc. kennt, wird begreifen, was dieser Ausspruch bedeutet. Die dortigen Zeitungen überboten sich förmlich in ihrem Enthusiasmus über den „Unerreichbaren“ und massenhafte Einladungen langten täglich aus allen Theilen Italiens an, die aber J. nur zum kleinsten Theile zu berücksichtigen vermochte. Nach dem ersten Concert in Mailand wurde Joachim zum Ehrenmitgliede der mit Recht hochrenommirten Società del Quartetto ernannt, auf deren besondere Einladung J. nach Mailand gekommen war. Der als Fortschrittskämpfer bekannte freisinnige Filippi in Mailand, welcher sich u. a. um das Verständniß Wagner’s in Italien so große Verdienste erwerben, schildert in der Perseveranza den Eindruck folgendermaßen: „Der berühmte Violinmeister stellte sich uns vor in der Ueberfülle seines außerordentlichen Talentes, dem der Weltruf eines ernsten, gediegenen Künstlers ohne irgend welchen Schatten eitlen Flitters noch Scharlatanismus vorherging. Joachim, ein Ungar, geboren 1831, ist also nun fast ein halbes Jahrhundert alt, mit dem Außern ungefähr eines Vierzigers. Ein starker künstlerischer Kopf mit dunklem Bart und vollem Haar, kleinen lebhaften Augen und sehr sympathischem Ausdruck, seine Erscheinung groß und stattlich, athletische Schultern, die Hände fleischig aber nervig und die linke Hand von überraschender Biegsamkeit, hat Joachim eine ganz eigenthümliche Art, die Violine zu halten — wie Gesänge aus heiligen Hallen erklingen die Weisen auf seinem prachtvollen Stradivario. Der leichtbeschwingte Bogen wird mit einer Eleganz, einer Mäßigung geführt, wie ich nie gesehen. Die Finger der linken Hand berühren die Saiten so, daß sie sprechen, singen, seufzen in einer das Herz in Entzücken versetzenden Weise, und mit vollkommener Reinheit der Intonation. Schwierigkeiten existiren nicht für Joachim, doppelte und dreifache Noten, Sprünge, Triller, Scalen, wirbelnde Arpeggien, sich kreuzende Motive, alle transcendentalen Teufeleien, wie in der Schumann’schen Phantasie, erklingen alle in blühendster Weise oder steigen brausend empor auf der obersten Saite bis zu gewagtester Höhe. Aber alles Dies ist gar Nichts im Vergleich mit den Geistesschätzen, für die dieser vollendete Mechanismus nur der folgsamste Diener ist. Diese Schätze sind der Styl, die Farbe, aber speciell das vollendete rhythmische Gefühl, stetigstes Ebenmaaß; nicht die geringste Koketterie, kein Flecken von Manirirtheit trübt die erhabne Reinheit dieser Töne, dieser Phrasen. Die einzige lebende Künstler, der mit ihm verglichen werden könnte, ebenso geachtet und ihm nahekommend, ist ein Italiener, nämlich Piatti. Joachim, welcher speciell mit ihm gespielt hat, spricht nicht anders als mit aufrichtiger begeisterter Bewunderung von ihm. Ein anderer bedeutender italienischer Künstler, für welchen Joachim besondere Sympathien hat, ist unser Bazzini. Mit ihm begann Joachim seine glänzende Laufbahn in Leipzig; es war im Jahre 1843. Joachim war 12 Jahre alt, als er im Gewandhaus auftrat und mit Maurer’s Concert für 4 Violinen einen glänzenden Erfolg erzielte, welches er mit seinem Lehrer David, Ernst und Bazzini spielte. Von diesen Vieren sind zwei gestorben. Joachim aber steht heut in vollster Größe da, ein gefeierter Name, bestimmt, Epoche zu machen, wie einst Nardini, Viotti, Paganini. Ich habe Joachim nur 2 Mal gehört, zuerst in Paris 1866, und in diesen 14 Jahren ist er riesengroß geworden. Das erste Mal hörte ich ihn in intimem Kreise bei Szarvady, dem Gatten der berühmten Pianistin Clauß. Dort waren auch Piatti und Clara Schumann, welche großes Talent zur Sängerin hatte und uns viele Lieder von Schumann hören ließ, bewunderungswürdig ausgeführt. Drei Stunden lang spielten Joachim, Piatti und Frau Szarvady-Clauß ununterbrochen Sonaten, Trios und Solostücke von Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann und haupsächlich von Bach, Joachims Lieblingscomponisten. J. hatte damals dasselbe stille Aussehen, aber weniger jugendlich, wie heute nach 14 Jahren. Das zweite Mal hörte ich von ihm Mendelssohn’s Concert im Circus Pasdeloup inmitten von 5000 Menschen mit überraschend klangvoller Wirkung.“

            „Sein diesmaliges hiesiges Auftreten eröffnete J. mit Spohr’s abgeblaßter ‚Gesangscene‘, welche sich besonders im Adagio und Recitativ in solcher Wiedergabe wunderbar verjüngte. Hierauf spielte er Tartini’s Teufelssonate in einer Weise, daß, wäre ich Violinspieler, ich meine Violine mit meinen Füßen zertreten hätte. Wunderbar erklang nicht nur der phantastische schwere Theil bis zum letzten dämonischen Triller, sondern auch der erste süß melodische Theil, verschönt durch ausgesuchteste effectvolle melodiöseste Rococo-Tournüre. Hier zeigte sich noch kein ernstlich gemeinter Teufel, sondern hier sang vielmehr ein Engel aus dem Paradiese. In der Phantasie von Schumann, einer sehr schönen aber nicht leicht zu verstehenden Composition, bewunderte der intelligente Theil der Zuhörer, welcher ihre violinistische Schwierigkeit ahnte, die enorme Virtuosität, mit der Joachim sie besiegte, wie seine olympische Ruhe. Als Schlußnr. Spielte Joachim das sehr schöne und charakteristische Andante seines ungarischen Concertes, geschrieben in dem die Musik der Zigeuner wiedergebenden Styl, einem Styl von ganz eigenthümlichem Colorit und melodischen Wendungen. J. führte sie aus mit der ganzen ihm eigenen Nervosität, mit welcher er nachher ebenso bewunderungswürdig die ungarischen Tänze von Brahms durchglühte. Mit Violine machen sie doppelten, drei- und vierfachen Effect, aber es ist nöthig, daß sie eben ein Joachim spielt. Als das Publikum sie so hörte, vermochte es keinen Augenblick seinen Enthusiasmus zu unterdrücken, sondern brach fortwährend in Beifallsstürme aus.“

            Einen höchst ebenbürtigen Kunstgenossen hatte sich übrigens J. in Heinrich Bonawitz aus Wien beigesellt, dessen Name bisher noch unbekannt war, ein gediegener Pianist, reich an seltenen Eigenschaften, ein pietätvoller ausgezeichneter Darsteller, glücklicher Interpret von Chopin und Schumann. Chopin’s Bmollscherzo z. B. haben wir bisher noch nie in so vollendeter Weise von irgend einem Andern gehört, als von Bonawitz, von welchem Joachim entzückend begleitet wurde. Ja da sind wahre und ungetrübte Feste und Freuden der Kunst, welche ebenso viele dramatische und musikalische Foltern, ebenso viele choreographische Qualen aufwiegen, zu denen die arme Kritik unaufhörlich verdammt ist.

Filippi.“           

            Mit ebenso enthusiastischer Emphase stempelten Franzioli und andere angesehene ital. Referenten das Erscheinen Joachims in Italien zu einem ungewöhnlichen Ereigniß in den Annalen ihrer Kunstgeschichte. Nie sei das dortige Publikum von einem deutschen Virtuosen so entzündet worden, sodaß nach dem letzten Concerte die Beifallsstürme, Hervorrufe und Zurufe „Auf Wiedersehn“ kein Ende nehmen wollten. —

[Heinrich Schmidt]

Concert hall, Château Valrose, Nice1


Joachim in Italy

            German art is currently gaining unusual sympathy in Italy and achieving sensational successes. Now it was Joseph Joachim who, in Northern Italy, celebrated triumphant victories — which is the more remarkable given that, while Italians readily appreciate and acknowledge the thoroughness of German virtuosos, they often find the artistic spark lacking in them that they are only too happy to claim for themselves.

            J.’s first concert took place in Nice, where the wealthy Russian Baron von Derwies 2 maintains an excellent private orchestra under the direction of the talented Müller-Berghaus. When D. learned that Joachim intended to perform there, he made his orchestra and magnificent concert hall available to him free of charge, an honor that no artist had received before. The attendance and reception were so stormy and enthusiastic that the net proceeds of the concert amounted to 5,000 francs.

            But the most brilliant reception was in Milan. “Hardly had the grandmaster of all violinists played the first bars of Spohr’s ‘Gesangscene’ when a storm of applause broke out, repeating almost every eighth bar throughout the entire piece.” Joachim himself declared that he had never experienced a similar success before, and anyone familiar with Joachim’s successes in Germany, Paris, England, etc., will understand what this statement means. The local newspapers outdid each other in their enthusiasm for the “Unsurpassable One,” and daily massive invitations arrived from all parts of Italy, which Joachim could only consider in the smallest part. After the first concert in Milan, Joachim was made an honorary member of the rightly highly reputed Società del Quartetto, 3 at whose special invitation Joachim had come to Milan.

            The liberal-minded Filippi in Milan, known as a fighter for progress and who earned great merits for promoting Wagner’s understanding in Italy, described the impression in the Perseveranza as follows:

“The famous violin master presented himself to us in the abundance of his extraordinary talent, preceded by the world reputation of a serious, solid artist without any shadow of vain glitter or charlatanism. Joachim, a Hungarian born in 1831, is now almost half a century old, appearing about forty. A strong artistic head with dark beard and full hair, small lively eyes, and a very sympathetic expression; his appearance is tall and stately, with athletic shoulders, fleshy but sinewy hands, and a left hand of surprising flexibility. Joachim has a very peculiar way of holding the violin — the melodies on his magnificent Stradivarius sound like songs from sacred halls. The gracefully floating bow is guided with an elegance and moderation I have never seen before. The fingers of the left hand touch the strings so that they speak, sing, sigh in a way that delights the heart, and with perfect purity of intonation. Difficulties do not exist for Joachim: double and triple stops, leaps, trills, scales, swirling arpeggios, crossing motifs, all transcendental devilries as in Schumann’s Fantasy, all sound in the most flourishing manner or roar up on the highest string to daring heights.

But all this is nothing compared to the treasures of spirit for which this perfect mechanism is only the most obedient servant. These treasures are style, color, but especially the perfect rhythmic feeling, constant evenness; not the slightest coquettishness, no trace of mannerism mars the sublime purity of these tones, these phrases. The only living artist who could be compared to him, equally respected and approaching him, is an Italian, namely Piatti. Joachim, who has played especially with him, only speaks of him with sincere enthusiastic admiration. Another important Italian artist for whom Joachim has special sympathies is our Bazzini. With him, Joachim began his brilliant career in Leipzig in 1843. Joachim was 12 years old when he appeared at the Gewandhaus and achieved a brilliant success with Maurer’s Concerto for four violins, which he played with his teacher David, Ernst, and Bazzini. Of these four, two have died. Joachim today stands in full greatness, a celebrated name destined to create an epoch, like Nardini, Viotti, and Paganini once did. I have heard Joachim only twice, first in Paris in 1866, and in these 14 years he has become a an artistic giant. The first time I heard him was in an intimate circle at Szarvady’s, the husband of the famous pianist Clauß. Piatti and Clara Schumann, who had great talent as a singer and let us hear many songs by Schumann, admirably performed, were also there. For three hours Joachim, Piatti, and Szarvady-Clauß played, without interruption, sonatas, trios, and solo pieces by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and especially Bach, Joachim’s favorite composer. J. then had the same quiet appearance, but less youthful than today after 14 years. The second time I heard him was in Mendelssohn’s concerto at the Circus Pasdeloup amidst 5,000 people, with surprisingly resonant effect.”

“His current appearance here opened with Spohr’s now-faded ‘Gesangscene,’ which was wonderfully rejuvenated in this performance, especially in the adagio and recitative. He then played Tartini’s Devil’s Sonata in such a way that, if I were a violin player, I would have trampled my violin under my feet. Not only did the fantastic difficult part sound wonderfully up to the last demonic trill, but also the first sweet melodic part, beautified by the most exquisite, effective, melodious Rococo turns. Here, no seriously meant devil appeared; rather, an angel from paradise sang. In Schumann’s Fantasy, a very beautiful but not easy to understand composition, the intelligent part of the audience, which suspected its violinistic difficulty, admired the enormous virtuosity with which Joachim conquered it, as well as his Olympic calm. As a final number, Joachim played the very beautiful and characteristic Andante of his Hungarian concerto, written in the style representing the music of the Gypsies, a style of very peculiar color and melodic turns. J. performed it with all his own nervous energy, with which he later also admirably ignited Brahms’s Hungarian Dances. With the violin, they produce double, triple, and quadruple the effect, but it is necessary that it be played by a Joachim. When the audience heard them like this, it could not suppress its enthusiasm for a moment but repeatedly broke out in storms of applause.”

Incidentally, J. had a highly worthy artistic companion in Heinrich Bonawitz 4 from Vienna, whose name was previously unknown — a solid pianist rich in rare qualities, a respectfully excellent performer, and a fortunate interpreter of Chopin and Schumann. For example, we have never heard Chopin’s B-flat minor Scherzo in such a perfect manner from anyone else as from Bonawitz, who was delightfully accompanied by Joachim. Yes, there are true and unclouded festivals and joys of art, which outweigh as many dramatic and musical tortures, as many choreographic torments to which poor criticism is incessantly condemned.

— Filippi.”           

… With equally enthusiastic emphasis, Franzioli and other respected Italian reviewers received Joachim’s appearance in Italy as an unusual event in the annals of their art history. Never had the local audience been so inflamed by a German virtuoso that after the last concert the storms of applause, calls, and shouts of “Goodbye” seemed never-ending.

— Z. [Heinrich Schmidt]


  1. photos-hdr.com ↩︎
  2. Baron Paul von Derwies (also spelled Derwies, Derviz, or von der Wiese), was a prominent Russian railway magnate, entrepreneur, and patron of the arts in the 19th century. He was born in 1826 in Lebedjan, Russia, and died in 1881 in Bonn, Germany. Derwies amassed significant wealth through his leadership roles in several major Russian railway companies during the rapid expansion of the rail network in the Russian Empire. His success enabled him to acquire estates in Russia, Switzerland, and France. In 1867, he purchased land in Nice and commissioned the construction of the Château de Valrose, a neo-Gothic palace completed between 1867 and 1870. The château featured lavish interiors and a concert hall, where he regularly hosted concerts with notable musicians such as Joseph Joachim, Adelina Patti, and Francis Planté.
    Derwies was also known for his philanthropy, funding charitable works such as a local asylum (which later became a school) and supporting hospitals. He was a passionate music lover, a pianist and a sometime composer. He made Valrose a cultural center for the Russian and international elite wintering on the French Riviera. Today, the Château de Valrose houses the University of Nice’s Faculty of Science and is recognized as a historical monument. ↩︎
  3. The Società del Quartetto di Milano has played a vital role in shaping Italy’s musical landscape. It was founded in 1864 by such notable figures such as Arrigo Boito and Tito Ricordi. Though primarily dedicated to the promotion and performance of chamber music, especially string quartets, it has hosted numerous larger events, including the first Italian performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in 1878 and the first Milanese performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in 1911. ↩︎
  4. Johann Heinrich Bonawitz (12 April 1839, Dürkheim am Rhein, Germany – 15 August 1917, London, England). ↩︎

Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Like this:

Like Loading…

Concert: Leipzig, Gewandhaus: November 16, 1843, NZfM

10 Monday Feb 2025

Posted by Joachim in Concert Reviews & Criticism, Concerts

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Debut, Gewandhaus, Leipzig

Concert: Leipzig Gewandhaus début: November 16, 1843
NZfM, Leipzig, Vol. 19, No. 47 (December 1, 1843), p. 188

[English translation below]


Joachim schien mir, wenn das Aeußere nicht trügt, ein Knabe von etwa 12–14 Jahren zu sein. Für ein solches Alter leistet er allerdings Ungewöhnliches und würde zu einer Zeit, wo die musicirenden Wunderkinder noch seltener waren, gewiß das größte Aufsehen erregt haben. In den letzten Jahren jedoch sind dem musikliebenden Publicum so viel solcher Wunder vorgeführt worden, daß sie aufgehört haben, welche zu sein. Auch hat man die Erfahrung gewonnen, daß diese vielversprechenden Kleinen sehr häufig nichts erfüllten, sondern in reiferen Jahren spurlos in die Alltagswelt verschwanden. Freilich, wenn ein solcher Knabe, wie z. B. dieser Joseph Joachim, in dem jedenfalls außerordentliche Anlagen vorhanden sind, bis zu seinem Mannesalter in geistiger und technischer Beziehung vorwärts schritte, dann müßte er sich zu einem wahrhaften Virtuosenwunder ausbilden. Möchte der kleine Virtuose durch unablässiges und edles Streben diese Voraussetzung verwirklichen, und das Glück ihm dazu günstig sein.

Z. [Heinrich Schmidt]


English Translation

Joachim appeared to me, if outward appearances can be trusted, to be a boy of around 12–14 years old. For someone of that age, he achieves something extraordinary and would certainly have caused the greatest sensation in an era when musical child prodigies were still rare. However, in recent years, the music-loving public has been presented with so many such marvels that they have ceased to be marvels at all. Experience has also shown that these promising youngsters often fail to fulfill their potential, vanishing without a trace into the ordinary world as they mature. Of course, if such a boy—like this Joseph Joachim, who undoubtedly possesses exceptional talent—were to advance intellectually and technically into adulthood, he could develop into a true virtuoso marvel. May this young virtuoso realize this potential through relentless and noble effort, and may fortune smile upon his pursuit.

Z. [Heinrich Schmidt]


Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Like this:

Like Loading…

Joachim’s Jubilee: New-York Tribune (May 7, 1899)

02 Thursday Dec 2021

Posted by Joachim in Concert Reviews & Criticism

≈ Leave a comment

New-York Tribune, 7 May, 1899, Illustrated Supplement


JOACHIM’S JUBILEE.

––––––––––

HOW THE SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF
THE GREAT VIOLINIST’S FIRST AP-
PEARANCE WAS CELEBRATED
IN BERLIN.

Berlin, April 28.

The great hall of the Philharmonie was filled to overflowing on Saturday night, April 23, for the celebration of the jubilee of Joseph Joachim, who sixty years ago, a little boy, eight years old, made his first public appearance as a virtuoso in Budapest, and began the career which has made him the master violinist of Germany, and in the opinion of many of the whole world. Bach, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and the entire “noble army” of musicians, who as cameo reliefs on the pale green wall keep watch over the splendid hall, looked down on one of the most brilliant assemblies of famous men and women ever gathered together in Berlin to honor a man great “by the grace of God.” Musicians, artists, men of letters and learning, high officers and Ministers of State, with countless orders gleaming on their breasts, crowded the parquet, the boxes and the gallery to bear witness to the esteem in which they held Germany’s “grand old man.”

He sat there among them in the centre of the hall, in his big chair of honor, decorated with gorgeous azaleas, smiling on them all, pleased as a child and modest as only a great man can be. Only a few minutes before every one of those thousands of men and women, from the highest dignitary to the humblest music student at the far corners of the hall, had risen and cheered at his entrance, while the trumpets of three of the finest regiments in Berlin sounded a fanfare of welcome. How simple he was, as he came in, accompanied by a few devoted men, stopping to shake hands with a friend in the box above him, or laying his hand affectionately on the shoulder of an old colleague as he passed him on his way down the aisle! The shouts of the people and the blare of the trumpets did not for one moment distract his attention from the familiar faces that beamed on him from all sides.

Indeed, they were all familiar faces. Robert von Mendelssohn, the banker and ‘cellist, descendant of the great Felix, and Joachim’s friend for many years, sat in the chair to his right. Across the passage to his left was the beloved old professor, Hermann Grimm, who had composed the prologue for the occasion, and coming toward him to welcome him was his friend and neighbor, Herr von Keudell. In the orchestra, every member of which was standing and waving his or her handkerchief, stood Wirth and Hausmann, Halir, and Moser and Markees, the two capable instigators and managers of the festival, and, besides these, old friends and pupils from all over the world, gray-haired men, middle-aged men, boys and girls, and no one could make noise enough. When the trumpets had ceased and the vast audience was seated, Fraulein Poppe, of the Royal Theatre, came to the front of the stage and recited the anniversary poem which Professor Grimm had written. It was a touching tribute, which grew in eloquence and feeling up to the last words, which were addressed to the orchestra, and as one exquisite mellow voice 144 stringed instruments responded with the opening strains of the overture to Weber’s “Euryanthe.” If ever an orchestra was inspired, that one was! No one who was not there can realize how perfectly the love and devotion to Joachim which every performer felt were breathed into that beautiful music. The audience sat spellbound. And no wonder, for such a collection of artists never played together before. Every city in Germany which could boast of a violin virtuoso sent him to play on this unique occasion, and not only Germany, but England, whose devotion to the great master is almost, if not quite, as great as that of his own country, sent the best two professors of the London Conservatory to represent her. Scattered among the older men were a few young ones, present pupils of Joachim, and about a dozen young girls in their light dresses, some of them with their hair still hanging in braids down their backs—German, English, American.

After the Joachim Variations, played by Petri, of Dresden, and after the overtures of Schumann and Mendelssohn, the “Genoveva” and “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and the Brahms Symphony in C Minor, there were three stars on the Programme. “What did they mean?” Every one looked at every one else and nobody knew, but a surprise was evidently in store. Then a note from some one on the stage was carried to Joachim, and at the same moment the whole orchestra rose and began to croon softly the first measures of the Beethoven Concerto. Then all understood and cheered and clapped, but the master himself was of a different mind. He could be seen expostulating and gesticulating and shaking his head and sitting down, only to get up again to expostulate further. But the orchestra never stopped; the soft music went on insistently—it would not be denied. The people behind the boxes, standing on tables and chairs, leaned forward, not to lose a sight or sound. “They’re bringing his violin,” the whisper ran through the excited crowd; and, sure enough, there came three girls, a deputation of his favorite pupils, down the aisle toward him, holding out his wonderful Stradivarius.

When he took it in his hand the music suddenly ceased, and every drum and horn and fiddle began to pound and toot and shriek in a most enthusiastic “Tusch.” When he had taken his stand, the noble old man turned to the audience in a modest, deprecating way and said: “I haven’t practiced for three days and my hands ache. I have clapped so hard. There are many men in this orchestra who can play this better than I can, but if you really wish me to, I’ll do my best.” A pinfall could have been heard when he began. Every one sat breathless, expectant, and no one was disappointed. If another man in the world could have played better, no one in the audience would have conceded as much, for to a German a false note by Joachim, the “violin king,” is more inspired than the most perfect note of any other violinist living.

When he was through and had returned to his comfortable chair, they made him come back again and again and bow and bow, and were not satisfied until he took the baton in his hand and himself conducted the last number on the programme, the Bach Concerto in G Major. It was written for three violins, three violas, three ‘cellos and basso continuo, but was played by sixty-six violins, the number of the other instruments being increased in proportion. The whole orchestra remained standing throughout in honor of the director, and he deserved it, for Bach, in Joachim’s hands, has beauties which the most stubborn Philistine must feel.

The public had been requested to depart immediately after the close of the concert, that the room might be cleared for the banquet that was to be held there in honor of the hero of the evening, so the rank and file went early, leaving the more fortunate to enjoy the speeches and reminiscences of bygone times.

Screen Shot 2021-12-02 at 8.13.01 PM
Screen Shot 2021-12-02 at 8.13.16 PM
Screen Shot 2021-12-02 at 8.13.49 PM
Screen Shot 2021-12-02 at 8.14.08 PM
Screen Shot 2021-12-02 at 8.14.37 PM
Screen Shot 2021-12-02 at 8.14.51 PM
Screen Shot 2021-12-02 at 8.15.04 PM

Share this:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Like this:

Like Loading…
← Older posts

Photo collage © Mathias Brösicke — Dematon, Weimar

Archives

Categories

  • 1 Biographical Posts — RWE
  • 2 Articles and Essays — RWE
  • 3 Talks — RWE
  • Articles by Contributing Authors
  • Bibliography
  • Biographical Sketches
  • Books About Joseph Joachim
  • Brief Biography
  • Chronology
  • Concert Reviews & Criticism
  • Concerts
  • Contracts
  • Documents
  • Ephemera
  • Estate/Nachlass
  • Family
  • Iconography
  • Instruments
  • Joachim in Great Britain
  • Joachim Quartet
  • Letters
  • Links
  • Literature
  • Literature Review
  • Miscellaneous Articles
  • Obituaries
  • Pages
  • Queries
  • Recordings
  • Reminiscences & Encomia
  • Scores
  • Speeches and Utterances (Joachim)
  • Students
  • Uncategorized
  • Works
  • Writings (Joachim)

Pages

  • INDEX

Recent Comments

Joachim on The Kittsee Kehilla
Johann Heinrich Bona… on Concerts: Vienna, January, 188…
Johann Heinrich Bona… on Joachim at the Società del Qua…
Johann Heinrich Bona… on Joachim in Italy (1880)
Concert: Düsseldorf,… on The 31st Lower Rhine Music Fes…

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Email: Reshbach(at)unh.edu

Powered by WordPress.com.

Loading Comments...
%d